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THE 


ELEMENTS    OF    CHAEACTEE. 


MARY    G.    CHANDLER. 

If 


"  An  exclusively  intellectual  education  le<ds,  by  a  very  obvious  process,  to 
hard-heartedness  and  the  contempt  of  all  moral  influences.  An  exclusively 
moral  education  tends  to  fatuity  by  the  over-excitement  of  the  sensibilities.  An 
exclusively  religious  education  ends  in  insanity,  if  it  do  not  take  a  directly  op- 
posite course  and  lead  to  atheism."  —  Edinburgh  Revibw. 


BOSTON: 

CROSBY,    NICHOLS,    AND    COMPANY, 

111  Washington  Street. 

1854. 


t^ 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  ttie  year  1854,  by 

CaosBT,  Nichols,  and  Company, 

in  the  Clerk's  OflSce  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


cahbbisge: 
mitoalp  and  compant,  peinter8  to  the  dniversitt. 


TO 

THE    REV.    E.    H.    SEAHS, 

MT    FORMER    PASTOR, 

UNDER   WHOSE   SPIRITUAL   GUIDANCE   AND   INSTRUCTION, 

MT   Xan>    IJEABNEI)    TO    SWELL    UPON   BXLIOIOCS   laSKES   WITH    PLEASUBE. 

WHILE  MY  HEART   FOUND  PEACE  IN   BELIEVING, 

THIS  VOLUME  IS  INSCRIBED, 

AS    A    TRIBUTE    OF    GRAl^EFUL   AFFECTION, 

BT 

THE    AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS 


Character. 

The  Human  Trinity. 

Thought. 

Imagination. 

Affection. 

Life.  , 

Conversation. 

Manners. 

Companionship. 


\ 


CHAEACTER 


"  We  have  been  taught,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  intentionally  or  unin- 
tentionally, to  seek  rather  what  virtue  gives  than  what  virtue  is ;  the  reward 
rather  than  the  service,  the  felicity  rather  than  the  life,  the  dowry,  let  me  say, 
rather  than  the  bride."— T.  T.  Stone. 

"  His  practice  was  of  a  more  divine  extraction,  drawn  from  the  word  of 
God,  and  wrought  up  by  the  assistance  of  his  Spirit ;  therefore,  in  the  head 
of  all  his  virtues  I  shall  set  that  which  was  the  head  and  spring  of  them  all,  his 
Christianity ;  for  this  alone  is  the  true  royal  blood  that  runs  through  the  whole 
body  of  virtue,  and  every  pretender  to  that  glorious  family,  who  has  no  tincture 
of  it,  is  an  imjwstor.  This  is  that  same  fountain  which  baptizeth  all  the  gen- 
tle virtues  that  so  immortalize  the  names  of  the  old  philosophers ;  herein  they 
are  regenerated,  and  talce  a  new  name  and  nature.  Dug  up  in  the  wilderness  of 
nature,  and  dipped  in  this  living  spring,  they  are  planted  and  flourish  in  the 
paradise  of  God.  By  Christianity  I  intend  that  universal  habit  of  grace  which  is 
wrought  in  a  soul  by  the  regenerating  Spirit  of  God,  whereby  the  whole  crea- 
ture is  resigned  up  into  the  divine  will  and  love,  and  all  its  actions  directed  to  the 
obedience  and  glory  of  its  Maker."  —  Memoirs  of  Col.  Hutchinson,  by  his 
Widow. 


The  weakness  and  helplessness  of  humanity,  in 
relation  to  the  fortunes  of  this  life,  have  been  a 
favorite  theme  with  philosophers  and  teachers 
ever  since  the  world  began ;  and  every  term  ex- 
pressive of  all  that  is  uncertain,  insubstantial, 
and  unstable  has  been  exhausted  in  describing 
the  feebleness  of  man's  power  to  retain  in  pos- 
session the  good  things  of  this  life,  or  even  life 


8  THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

itself.  However  firmly  the  hand  of  man  may 
seem  to  grasp  power,  reputation,  or  wealth  ;  how- 
ever numerous  may  be  the  band  of  children  or 
friends  that  surrounds  him,  he  has  no  certainty 
that  he  may  not  die  friendless  and  a  pauper.  In 
fact,  the  most  brilliant  success  in  life  seems 
sometimes* to  be  permitted  only  that  it  may  make 
the  darkness  of  succeeding  reverses  the  more  pro- 
found. 

Weak  and  helpless  as  we  may  be  in  the  affairs 
of  this  life,  there  is,  however,  one-  thing  over 
which  we  have  entire  control.  Riches  may  take 
to  themselves  wings,  though  honest  industry  exert 
its  best  efforts  to  acquire  and  retain  them ;  power 
is  taken  away  from  hands  that  seek  to  use  it 
only  for  the  good  of  those  they  govern ;  reputa- 
tion may  become  tarnished,  though  virtue  be 
without  spot;  health  may  vanish,  though  its 
laws,  so  far  as  we  understand  them,  be  strictly 
obeyed ;  but  there  is  one  thing  left  which  mis- 
fortune cannot  touch,  which  God  is  ever  seeking 
to  aid  us  in  building  up,  and  over  which  he 
permits  us  to  hold  absolute  control ;  and  this 
is  Character.  For  this,  and  for  this  alone,  we 
are  entirely  responsible.  We  may  fail  in  all 
else,  let  our  endeavors  be  earnest  and  patient 
as  they  may;  but  all  other  failures  touch  us 
only  in  our  external  lives.  K  we  have  used 
our  best  endeavors  to  attain  success  in  the  pur- 
suit of  temporal  objects,  we  are  not  responsible 


CHARACTER.  0 

though  we  fail.  But  if  we  do  not  succeed  in  at- 
taining true  health  and  wealth  and  power  of 
Character,  the  responsibility  is  all  our  own ;  and 
the  consequences  of  our  failure  are  not  bounded 
by  the  shores  of  time,  but  stretch  onward  through 
the  limitless  regions  of  eternity.  If  we  strive  for 
this,  success  is  certain,  for  the  Lord  works  with 
us  to  will  and  to  do.  If  we  do  not  strive,  it  were 
better  for  us  that  we  had  never  been  born. 

Character  is  all  we  can  take  with  us  when  we 
leave  tfiis  world.  Fortune,  learning,  reputation, 
power,  must  all  be  left  behind  us  in  the  region  of 
material  things  ;  but  Character,  the  spiritual  sub- 
stance of  our  being,  abides  with  us  for  ever.  Ac- 
cording as  the  possessions  of  this  world  have 
aided  in  building  up  Character,  —  forming  it  to 
the  divine  or  to  the  infernal  image,  —  they  have 
been  cursings  or  blessings  to  the  soul. 

Before  we  can  understand  how  Character  is  to 
be  buUt  up,  we  must  come  to  a  distinct  faith  in 
its  reality  ;  we  must  learn  to  feel  that  it  is  more 
real  than  anything  else  that  we  possess ;  for  surely 
that  which  is  eternal  is  more  real  than  that 
which  is  merely  temporal ;  it  may,  indeed,  be 
doubted  whether  that  which  is  merely  temporal 
has  any  just  claim  to  be  called  real. 

Many  persons  confound  reputation  with  Char- 
acter, and  believe  themselves -to  be  striving  for 
the  reality  of  the  one,  when  the  fantasy  of  the 
other  alone  stimulates  their  desires.     Reputation 


10  THE   ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

is  the  opinion  entertained  of  us  by  our  fellow- 
beings,  while  Character  is  that  which  we  really 
are.  When  we  labor  to  gain  reputation,  we  are 
not  even  taking  a  first  step  toward  the  acquisi- 
tion of  Character,  but  only  putting  on  coverings 
over  that  which  is,  and  protecting  it  agains:  im- 
provement. As  well  may  we  strive  to  be  virtu- 
ous by  thinking  of  the  reward  of  heaven,  as  to 
build  up  our  Characters  by  thinking  of  the  opin- 
ions of  men.  The  cases  are  precisely  parallel. 
In  each  we  are  thinking  of  the  pay  as  something 
apart  from  the  work,  while,  in  fact,  the*  only  pay 
we  can  have  inheres  in  the  doing  of  the  work. 
Virtue  is  its  own  reward,  because  its  perform- 
ance creates  the  kingdom  of  heavfen  within  us, 
and  w^e  cannot  attain  to  virtue  until  we  strive 
after  it  for  its  own  sake. 

A  wisely  trained  Character  never  stops  to  ask, 
What  will  society  think  of  me  if  I  do  this  thing, 
or  if  I  leave  it  undone  ?  The  questions  by  which 
it  tests  the  quality  of  an  action  are,  whether  it  is 
just,  and  wise,  and  fitting,-  when  judged  by  the 
eternal  laws  of  right ;  and  in  accordance  with 
this  judgment  will  its  manifestations  ever  be  made. 
If  the  mind  acquires  the  habit  of  deliberately 
asking  and  answering  these  questions  in  regard 
to  common  affairs,  it  acquires,  by  degrees,  dis-' 
tinct  opinions  in  relation  to  life,  forming  a  regu- 
lar system,  in  accordance  with  which  the  Char- 
acter is  shaped  and  built  up  ;  and  unless  this  be 


CHARACTER.  11 

done,  the  Character  cannot  become  consistent 
and  harmonious.  It  is  never  too  late  to  begin  to 
do  this ;  but  the  earlier  in  life  it  is  done,  the 
more  readily  the  character  can  be  conformed  to 
the  standard  of  right  which  is  thus  established. 
Every  year  added  to  life  ere  this  is  attempted,  is 
an  added  impediment  to  its  performance;  and 
until  it  is  accomplished,  there  is  no  safety  for  the 
Character,  for  each  year  is  adding  additional 
force  to  careless  or  evil  habits  of  thought  and 
aflFection,  and  consequently  of  external  life. 

It  is  not  going  too  far  to  say,  that  Character  is 
the  only  permanent  possession  we  can  have.  It 
is  in  fact  jOur  spiritual  body.  All  other  mental 
possessions  are  to  the  spiritual  body  only  what 
clothing  is  to  the  natural  body,  —  something  put 
on  and  taken  off  as  circumstances  vary.  Char- 
acter changes  from  year  to  year  as  we  cultivate 
or  neglect  it,  and  so  does  the  natural  body  ;  but 
these  changes  of  the  body  are  something  very 
different  from  the  changes  of  our  garments. 

There  is  a  transient  and  a  permanent  side  to  all 
our  mental  attributes.  Take,  for  instance,  man- 
ners, which  are  the  most  external  of  them  all. 
So  far  as  we  habituate  ourselves  to  courtesy 
and  good-breeding  because  we  shall  stand  better 
with  the  world  if  we  are  polite  than  if  we  are 
rude,  we  are  cultivating  a  merely  external  habit, 
which  we  shall  be  likely  to  throw  off  as  often  as 
we  think  it  safe  to  go  without  it,  as  we  should 


12  THE   ELEMENTS    OF   CHAKACTER. 

an  uncomfortably  fitting  dress  ;  and  our  manners 
do  not  belong  to  our  Characters  any  more  than 
our  coats  belong  to  our  persons.  This  is  the 
transient  side  of  manners.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
we  are  polite  from  an  inward  conviction  that 
politeness  is  one  of  the  forms  of  love  to  the 
neighbor,  and  because  we  believe  that  in  being 
polite  we  are  performing  a  duty  that  our  neighbor 
has  a  right  to  claim  from  us,  and  because  polite- 
ness is  a  trait  that  we  love  for  its  own  inherent 
beauty,  our  manners  belong  to  the  substance  of 
our  Character,  —  they  are  not  its  garment,  but  its 
skin  ;  and  this  is  the  permanent  side  of  manners. 
Such  manners  will  be  ours  in  death,  and  after- 
wards, no  less  than  in  life. 

In  the  same  way,  every  personal  accomplish- 
ment and  every  mental  acquisition  has  its  tran- 
sient and  its  permanent  side.  So  far  as  we  cul- 
tivate them  to  enrich  and  to  ennoble  our  natures, 
to  enlarge  and  to  elevate  our  understandings,  to 
become  wiser,  better,  and  more  useful  to  our  fel- 
low-beings, we  are  cultivating  our  Characters,  — 
the  spiritual  essence  of  our  being ;  but  these  very 
same  acquisitions,  when  sought  from  motives 
wholly  selfish  and  worldly,  are  not  only  as  tran- 
sient as  the  clothes  we  wear,  but  often  as  useless 
as  the  ornaments  of  a  fashionable  costume.  The 
Character  will  be  poor  and  famished  and  cold, 
however  great  the  variety  of  such  clothing  or 
ornament  we  may  put  on. 


CHARACTER.  13 

When  the  mind  has  learned  to  appreciate 
the  difference  between  reputation  and  Character, 
between  the  seeming  and  the  being,  it  must 
next  decide,  if  it  would  build  up  a  worthy  Char- 
acter, what  it  desires  this  should  be;  for  to 
build  a  Character  requires  a  plan,  no  less  than  to 
build  a  house.  A  deep  and  broad  foundation  of 
sound  opinions,  believed  in  with  the  whole  heart, 
can  alone  insure  safety  to  the  superstructure. 
Where  such  a  foundation  is  not  laid,  the  Char- 
acter will  possess  no  architectural  unity,  —  will 
have  no  consistency.  Its  emotions  will  be  swayed 
by  the  impulses  of  the  moment,  instead  of  being 
governed  by  principles  of  life.  There  is  nothing 
reliable  in  such  a  Character,  for  it  perpetually 
contradicts  itself.  Its  powers,  instead  of  acting 
together,  like  well-trained  soldiers,  will  be  ever 
jostling  each  other,  like  a  disorderly  mob. 

The  zeal  for  special  reforms  in  morality  that 
so  strongly  characterizes  the  present  age,  what- 
ever may  be  its  utility  or  its  necessity,  may  not 
be  without  an  evil  effect  upon  the  training  of 
Character  as  a  whole.  The  intense  effort  after 
reform  in  certain  particular  directions  causes 
many  to  forget  or  to  overlook  altogether  the  fact 
that  one  virtue  is  not  enough  to  make  a  moral 
being.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  present 
surpasses  all  former  ages  in  its  eagerness  to  put 
down  several  of  the  most  prominent  vices  to 
which  man  is  subject ;  but  it  may  be  well  to 


14         THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

pause  and  calmly  examine  whether  a  larger 
promise  is  not  sometimes  uttered  by  the  zeal  so 
actively  at  work  in  society,  than  will  probably  be 
made  good  by  its  results. 

Nothing  can  be  worthy  the  name  of  Reform 
that  is  not  based  on  the  Christian  religion,  —  that 
does  not  acknowledge  the  laws  of  eternal  truth 
and  justice,  —  that  does  not  find  its  life  in  Chris- 
tian charity,  and  its  light  in  Christian  truth. 
The  tendency  of  reform  at  the  present  day  is  too 
often  to  separate  itself  from  religion  ;  for  religion 
cannot  work  fast  enough  to  satisfy  its  haste ;  can- 
not, at  the  end  of  each  year,  count  the  steps  it 
has  advanced  in  arithmetical  numbers.  The  re- 
former asks  not  always  for  general  growth  and 
advancement  in  Christian  Character;  but  de- 
mands special  evidences,  startling  results,  tan- 
gible proofs.  These  things  all  have  their  value, 
and  the  persons  who  strive  for  them  doubtless 
have  their  reward ;  but  if  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
and  its  righteousness  were  first  sought,  the  good 
things  so  fiercely  advocated  and  labored  after  by 
special  reformers  would  be  added  unto  them,  as 
naturally  as  flowers  and  fruits,  and  the  wealth  of 
harvest,  are  added  to  the  light  and  warmth  of  the 
advancing  year. 

Persons  who  devote  themselves  to  one  special 
branch  of  reform  are  apt  to  lose  the  power  of  ap- 
preciating any  virtue  save  that  one  which  they 
have  selected  as  their  own,  and  which  they  seem 


CHAHACTEB.  15 

to  love,  not  so  much  because  it  is  a  virtue  as  be- 
cause it  is  their  virtue.  They  soon  lose  all  moral 
perspective,  and  resemble  him  who  holds  some 
one  object  so  closely  before  his  eyes  that  he  can 
see  nothing  else,  and  cannot  see  that  correctly, 
while  he  insists  that  nothing  else  exists  worthy 
of  being  seen.  > 

There  is  ever  an  effort  going  on  in  the  mind  of 
man  to  find  some  substitute  for  that  universal 
obedience  to  the  laws  of  faith  and  charity  .which 
the  Scriptures  demand ;  and  this  temptation 
adapts  itself  specially  to  every  different  class  of 
believers.  Thus  the  Jew,  if  the  higher  requisi- 
tions of  the  Law  oppress  him,  thinks  to  secure 
himself  from  its  penalties  by  the  exactness  of  his 
ritual  observances.  The  unfaithful  Romanist 
hopes  to  atone  for  a  life  of  sin  by  devoting  his 
property  to  the  Church,  or  to  charity,  wh«n  he 
dies.  The  Lutheran  and  the  Calvinist,  when 
false  to  the  call  of  duty,  think  to  be  forgiven  their 
neglect  of  the  laws  of  charity  by  reason  of  the 
liveliness  of  their  faith.  So  the  modern  reformer 
sometimes  seems  to  suppose  himself  at  liberty  to 
neglect  the  cure  of  any  of  the  vices  that  he  loves, 
because  he  fancies  that  he  may  take  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  by  violence  through  his  devotion 
to  the  destruction  of  some  special  vice  which  he 
abhors.  Thus  temperance  is  at  times  preached 
by  men  so  intemperate  in  their  zeal,  that  they 
are  unwilling  to  make  public  addresses  pn  the 


16  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

Sabbath,  because  on  that  day  they  are  tram- 
melled by  the  constraint  of  decency,  which 
prevents  them  from  entering  freely  into  the 
gross  and  disgusting  details  in  which  they  de- 
light. We  have  the  emancipation  of  negroes 
sometimes  preached  by  men  fast  bound  in  fet- 
ters of  malignity  and  spiritual  pride.  We  have 
the  destruction  of  the  ruling  influence  of  the 
clergy  inculcated  by  men  dogmatic  as  Spanish 
Inquisitors.  We  are  taught  that  the  doctrine  of 
the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  is  a  mere  fig- 
ment, by  those  who  are  firmly  convinced  that 
their  own  inspiration  is  perfect  and  unfailing. 
The  result  of  all  this  is  the  development  of  char- 
acters as  deformed  as  are  the  bodies  of  victims  to 
hydrocephalus  or  goitre ;  while,  in  painful  contrast 
to  such  victims,  these  morally  distorted  patients 
bear  about  their  deformities  in  the  most  conspic- 
uous manner,vas  if  they  were  rare  beauties.  So 
pagan  nations,  when  they  embody  their  ideas  of 
superhuman  attributes,  often  construct  figures  hav- 
ing several  heads  or  hands,  or  enormously  enlarge 
some  particular  member  of  the  frame,  fancying 
that  they  thus  express  ideas  of  wisdom  or  power 
more  perfectly  than  they  could  by  forming  a 
figure  whose  parts  should  all  present  a  symmetri- 
cal development. 

It  is  not  that  reformers  over-estimate  the  evil  of 
any  of  the  vices  against  which  they  contend ;  for 
in  the  abstract  that  is  impossible ;  but  that  they 


CHARACTER.  17 

under-estimate  the  evil  of  all  other  vices  in  rela- 
tion to  that  one  against  which  they  arm  them- 
selves. The  tree  of  evil  has  many  branches,  and 
the  trimming  away  one  of  them  may  only  make 
the  rest  grow  more  vigorously.  There  can  be  no 
thorough  progress  in  reform  until  the  evil  of  the 
whole  tree  is  perceived  and  acknowledged,  and 
the  whole  strength  is  turned  to  digging  it  up  by 
the  roots. 

If  a  man  devote  himself  actively  to  the  reform 
of  some  special  vice,  while  he  at  the  same  time 
shows  himself  indifferent  to  other  vices  in  him- 
self or  in  his  neighbors,  it  is  evident  that  his 
virtue  is  only  one  of  seeming.  We  are  told  that 
he  who  is  guilty  of  breaking  one  commandment 
is  guilty  of  all ;  because  if  we  disregard  any  one 
commandment  of  the  Lord  habitually,  persisting 
in  the  preference  of  our  own  will  to  his,  it  is  evi- 
dent we  have  no  true  reverence  for  him,  or  that 
we  act  in  conformity  to  his  commandments  in 
other  points  only  because  in  them  our  will  hap- 
pens not  to  run  counter  to  his;  and  this  is  no 
obedience  at  all. 

If  we  find  men  leaving  no  stone  unturned  in 
promoting  the  cause  of  temperance,  who  do  not 
hesitate  to  cheat  and  slander  their  neighbors, 
temperance  is  no  virtue  in  them ;  but  is  the  result 
of  love  of  wealth,  or  of  property,  or  of  reputation, 
or  of  the  having  no  desire  for  strong  drink  ;  be- 
cause if  a  man  abstain  from  intemperance  from 
2 


18  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHAKACTEH. 

love  to  God,  he  will  abstain  from  cheating  and 
slandering  from  love  to  the  neighbor.  "  He  that 
loveth  not  his  brother  whom  he  hath  seen,  how 
can  he  love  God  whom  he  hath  not  seen  ?  " 

So,  too,  slavery  is  an  enormous  evil,  and  it  is 
very  easy  for  one  who  dwells  in  the  free  States 
to  cover  witii  opprobrium  those  who  hold  slaves  ; 
but  if  the  abolitionist  indulges  in  a  violence  of 
invective  that  compels  one  to  fear  that  his  heart 
is  burning  with  hatred  towards  his  Southern 
brothers,  he  stands  quite  as  low  in  the  moral 
scale  as  a  cruel  slaveholder,  and  possibly  lower 
than  a  kind  one. 

The  intemperate,  and  often  malignant,  vio- 
lence with  which  men  preach,  and  lead  on  cru- 
sades, against  special  vices,  proves  them  ignorant 
of,  or  indifferent  to,  the  significance  of  virtue  as  a 
whole.  It  does  not  enter  into  their  hearts  to 
conceive  of  the  beauty  of  that  growth  in  grace 
which  results  in  the  complete  stature  of  a  man, 
—  that  is,  of  an  angel.  In  their  haste  to  pro- 
duce great  growth  in  some  particular  direc- 
tion, they  overlook  the  fact,  that  in  precise  pro- 
portion to  such  growth  must  be  the  dwarfing  of 
the  other  members  of  the  soul.  Man  was  created 
in  the  image  and  likeness  of 'God;  and  he  be- 
comes truly  a  man  only  so  far  as,  through  the 
grace  of  God,  his  whole  being  voluntarily  as- 
sumes that  resemblance  to  the  All-perfect  for 
which  he  was  designed.    So  long  as  he  makes  no 


CHARACTER.  19 

effort  to  become  regenerate,  after  he  has  arrived  at 
an  age  to  be  at  liberty  to  choose  between  good 
and  evil,  he  turns  himself  more  and  more  away 
from  God,  and  becomes  less  and  less  like  him. 
While  in  this  state,  he  may  possess  many  seem- 
ing virtues,  may  enjoy  an  untarnished  reputation, 
may  win  the  love  of  many  friends ;  but  is  none 
the  less  the  hollow  image  of  that  which  should 
be  the  substance  of  a  man.  He  is  following  only 
the  devices  of  his  own  heart,  —  seeking  only  the 
good  things  of  this  world ;  and  there  is  no  virtue 
in  anything  that  he  does,  though  he  may  seem  to 
devote  all  that  he  has,  or  all  that  he  is,  to  pur- 
poses of  charity  or  reform.  Man  begins  to  be 
truly  virtuous,  —  to  be  truly  a  man,  only  when, 
relying  on  the  strength  of  the  Lord  to  sustain  his 
endeavors,  he  begins  to  avoid  sin  because  it  is 
abhorrent  to  God,  and  to  fulfil  the  command- 
ments because  they  are  the  words  of  God. 
Then  only  he  begins  to  form  himself  into  the 
symmetrical  figure  of  a  man  ;  and  to  become 
perfect  after  the  manner  in  which  the  Heavenly 
Father  is  perfect. 

The  virtues  all  lock  into  each  other.  They 
cannot  stand  alone.  Like  the  stones  of  an 
arch,  no  one  of  them  can  be  wanting  without 
making  all  the  rest  insecure.  That  Character 
alone  is  trustworthy  in  which  each  virtue  takes 
its  relative  position,  and  all  are  held  in  place  and 
confirmed  by  the  key-stone  of  a  living  faith  in 


20         THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

the  great  central  fact,  that  there  is  a  God  of  in- 
finite goodness  and  truth,  whose  commandments 
are  the  laws  of  life  in  this  world  and  the  world 
to  come. 

We  cannot  religiously  obey  one  command- 
ment unless  we  desire  to  obey  all,  because  in 
order  to  obey  one  religiously  we  must  obey  it 
from  reverence  to  the  divine  authority  whence  it 
emanates ;  and  when  such  reverence  is  aroused  in 
the  heart,  it  sends  the  currents  of  spiritual  life  to 
every  member  of  the  spiritual  frame,  permeating 
the  whole  being,  and  suffering  no  disease  to  re- 
main upon  the  soul.  He,  therefore,  who  devotes 
himself  to  some  one  object  of  reform  enters  upon 
an  undertaking  involving  one  of  the  most  subtle 
temptations  by  which  man  is  ever  assailed. 
Spiritual  pride  will  lie  in  wait  for  hin;  every  mo- 
ment, telling  him  how  clean  he  is  compared  with 
those  against  whose  vices  he  is  contending ;  and 
unless  he  is  very  strong  in  Christian  humility,  he 
will  soon  learn  this  oft-repeated  lesson,  and  will 
go  about  the  world  with  the  spirit  of  the  Phari- 
see's prayer  ever  in  his  heart,  — "  God,  I  thank< 
thee  that  I  am  not  as  other  men,  intemperate,  a 
slaveholder,  a  contemner  of  the  rights  of  the 
weak.  I  am  not,  like  many  men,  contented  with 
fulfilling  the  common,  every-day  duties  of  life. 
They  are  too  small  for  me.  I  seek  to  do  great 
things;  and  to  show  my  devotion  to  thee  by 
going  armed  with  all  the  power  the  law  allows, 


CHARACTER.  21 

to  put  down  vice  by  force,  and  drive  it  j&rora  the 
face  of  the  earth." 

There  is  a  class  of  men  who  assume  to  be,  and 
are  received  by  many  as,  philanthropists,  who 
appear  to  delight  in  detecting  and  publishing  to 
the  world  the  vices  of  their  fellow-beings.  They 
seem  to  love  to  hate ;  and  to  find,  in  vilifying  the 
reputations  of  those  to  whom  they  are  opposed, 
a  pleasure  that  can  be  compared  to  nothing 
human;  but  rather  to  the  joy  of  a  vulture  as  he 
gloats  over,  and  rends  in  pieces,  his  carrion  prey. 
While  reading  or  listening  to  the  raging  denun- 
ciations of  such  persons,  one  is  painfully  re- 
minded of  the  spirit  that  a  few  generations  ago 
armed  itself  with  the  fagot  and  the  axe  in  order 
to  destroy  those  who  held  opinions  in  opposition 
to  the  dominant  power.  The  axe  and  the  fagot 
have  disappeared  ;  but,  alas  for  human  nature ! 
the  spirit  that  delighted  in  their  use  has  not 
wholly  passed  away ;  the  flame  and  sword  it 
uses  now  are  those  of  malignity  and  hatred ;  it 
does  not  scorch  or  wound  the  body,  but  only 
burns  and  slays  the  reputations  of  those  whom  it 
assails.  Forgetting  that  the  Lord  has  declared, 
"judgment  is  mine,"  it  hesitates  but  little  to  pass 
its  condemnations  upon  those  who  differ  from 
itself;  and  if  Christian  commandments  are  urged 
against  it,  it  passes  them  by  with  a  sneer,  or 
openly  sets  them  aside  as  too  narrow  and  imper- 
fect for  the  present  age. 


22  THE    ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

While  shrinking  from  the  dangers  that  lie  in 
wait  for  those  who  devote  themselves  to  one  idea 
in  morality  or  reform,  we  should  beware  of  fall- 
ing into  the  opposite  extreme  of  indifference  on 
these  same  points ;  and  should  be  sure  to  give 
them  their  full  share  of  consideration.  The  ultra 
conservatism,  that  holds  fast  to  existing  customs 
and  organizations  merely  because  they  are  old,  or 
from  the  love  of  conservation,  is  quite  as  fatuous 
as  the  radicalism  that  would  destroy  the  old 
merely  because  it  is  old,  or  from  the  love  of  de- 
struction. He  whose  conscience  knows  no  higher 
sanction  or  restraint  than  the  Statute  Book,  is 
not  enough  of  a  Christian  to  be  a  good  citizen ; 
while  he  who  does  not  respect  the  Statute  Book 
as  the  palladium  of  his  country,  is  not  a  citizen 
worthy  the  name  of  Christian.  While  striving 
to  remain  unbiased  by  the  clamor  of  party,  or 
the  violence  of  individuals,  we  should  with  equal 
care  avoid  the  opposite  error  of  looking  with  ap- 
proval, or  even  with  indifference,  upon  usages  or 
institutions  whose  only  claim  to  our  forbearance 
lies  in  laws  or  popular  opinions  whose  deformity 
should  be  discovered,  and  whose  power  should 
melt  away  beneath  the  light  and  warmth  of  a 
Christian  sun. 

True  religious  life  consists  in  doing  the  will  of 
God  every  moment  of  our  lives.  His  will  must 
bear  upon  us  everywhere  and  at  all  times.  Where 
the  mind  is  absorbed  in  some  one  object  of  re- 


CHARACTER.  23 

form,  this  constant  devotion  to  duty  is  almost,  if 
not  quite,  impossible.  The  mind  becomes  so 
warped  in  one  direction  that  it  loses  the  habit, 
and  almost  loses  the  power,  of  turning  in  any 
other.  Hence  we  rarely  hear  the  word  duty  from 
the  lips  of  the  reformer.  He  constantly  descants 
upon  rights  or  wrongs,  while  duties  seem  forgot- 
ten. Thus  we  hear  perpetually  of  the  rights  or 
of  the  wrongs  of  man  or  of  woman,  of  the  citi- 
zen, or  of  the  criminal,  and  of  the  slave ;  but  the 
duties  of  these  classes  seem  to  have  passed  out 
of  sight.  Now  it  is  only  when  all  shall  fulfil 
their  several  duties  that  the  rights  of  all  can  be 
respected ;  and  if  peace  on  earth,  and  good-will 
towards  men  are  ever  to  reign,  it  must  be  when 
piety  and  charity  shall  go  hand  in  hand,  —  when 
the  human  race  shall  unite  as  one  to  fulfil  its 
duties  towards  God  and  towards  each  other. 

Violence  of  every  kind  springs  from  a  desire 
to  do  one's  own  will.  Egotism  is  the  sure  ac- 
companiment of  wrath.  The  love  of  God  never 
constrained  any  man  to  villify  his  brother.  He 
who  is  bent  on  the  performance  of  duty,  —  who 
desires  simply  to  do  the  will  of  God,  is  firm  as  a 
rock,  but  never  violent  He  prays,  with  the 
poet,  — 

"Let  not  this  weak,  unknowing  hand, 
Presnme  thy  bolts  to  throw ; 
And  deal  damnation  roand  the  land, 
On  each  I  judge  thy  foe." 


24  THE   ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

He  remembers  that  judgment  belongs  to  God; 
and  that  the  Lord  taught  us  to  pray,  "  Forgive 
our  trespasses  as  we  forgive  those  who  trespass 
against  us  " ;  and  surely  none  can  hurl  denuncia- 
tion upon  a  fellow-sinner  if  from  his  heart  he 
offers  that  prayer. 

Possibly  the  ground  may  be  taken  that  we 
should  forgive  our  own  personal  enemies,  but  not 
the  enemies  of  the  Lord,  against  whom  the  re- 
former directs  his  wrath.  But  is  the  arm  of  the 
Lord  shortened  that  he  cannot  avenge  his  own 
wrongs  ?  and  who  among  mortals  is  so  pure  or 
so  strong  that  he  may  dare  to  say,  the  Lord  has 
need  of  him  for  a  champion? 

It  is  deemed  just  that  a  soldier  should  suffer 
severe  punishment  if  he  act  without  orders,  tak- 
ing upon  himself  the  authority  of  a  commanding 
officer.  How  much  more  is  he  worthy  of  con- 
demnation who  puts  himself  in  place  of  God, 
and  under  pretence  of  doing  him  service,  pre- 
sumes to  transgress  his  explicit  commands. 

We  are  prone  to  fancy  that  when  we  are  fond 
of  talking  about  any  object  we  are  fond  of  the 
object  itself;  but  this  by  no  means  follows  of 
course.  We  may  delight  in  talking  about  phi- 
lanthropy while  our  hearts  are  burning  with 
hatred,  or  about  temperance  while  intoxicated 
with  passion,  or  about  abolitionism  while  we 
have  no  respect  ^for  the  liberty  of  those  around 
us,  and  no  comprehension  of  that  liberty  where- 


CHARACTER.  25 

with  Christ  makes  his  children  free ;  and  all  this 
because  we  are  working  from  the  blind  impulses 
of  an  unregenerate  spirit.  When  the  spirit  be- 
comes regenerate,  —  taught  of  God,  —  it  per- 
ceives the  unity  of  virtue,  and  can  never  again 
regard  it  as  a  dismembered  fragment.  Then  it 
knows,  that  to  do  wrong  that  good  may  come  of 
it  is  striving  to  cast  out  Satan  by  Beelzebub,  —  an 
effort  that  must  surely  fail.  Then  it  feels  that 
evil  is  really  overcome  only  by  good.  How  dif- 
ferent will  be  the  reformatory  zeal  of  this  state  of 
the  spirit  from  that  which  preceded  it.  For- 
merly, no  sooner  was  the  subject  of  reform  men- 
tioned than  the  neck  stiffened  and  the  head 
tossed  itself  backward  with  the  excitement  of 
pride  and  combativeness,  while  the  tongue  poured 
forth  whatever  phrases  anger  might  suggest. 
Now,  how  different  is  the  attitude  and  expres- 
sion, as  with  words  of  gentleness  and  love  it 
strives  to  draw  others  to  perceive  the  beauty  of 
purity  and  justice.  Formerly,  the  whole  efibrt  of 
the  mind  was  to  compel  others  to  come  into 
agreement  with  itself;  now,  it  strives  to  win 
them  into  harmony  with  God.  Once,  it  believed 
that  indignation  could  be  righteous ;  now,  it 
knows  that  anger- and  heavenly  mindedn^ss  dwell 
far  apart ;  and,  if  they  approach  each  other,  one 
must  perish. 

If  we  would  train  character  into  genuine  good- 
ness, we  should  obsetve  whether  evil  in  ourselves 


26  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTEK. 

or  others  offends  us  because  it  is  contrary  to  our 
own  ideas,  or  because  it  is  opposed  to  the  will  of 
God.  If  the  former  be  the  case,  we  shall  find 
ourselves  angry  ;  if  the  latter,  we  shall  be  sor- 
rowful. No  one  can  be  angry  from  love  to  God. 
Anger  is  in  its  very  nature  egotistic  and  selfish, 
and  has  in  it  nothing  of  holiness.  Penitence  for 
sin  is  ever  meek  and  humble,  and  so  is  regret  for 
the  sins  of  others.  The  moment  we  find  our- 
selves angry,  either  for  our  own  sins  or  for 
the  sins  of  others,  we  may  be  sure  there  is 
something  wrong  in  our  state,  and  we  should 
stop  at  once  to  analyze  our  feelings,  and  find 
where  the  trouble  lies.  If  we  do  this  conscien- 
ciously,  we  shall  be  sure  to  find  some  selfish  or 
worldly  passion  at  the  root  of  the  matter.  We 
shall  find  that  something  else  than  love  to  God 
excited  our  indignation. 

If  we  find  ourselves  indulging,  habitually  and 
with  satisfaction  in  any  one  sin,  we  may  be  sure 
that  we  have  not  true  hatred  for  any  sin ;  for  sin 
is  hateful  because  it  is  contrary  to  the  infinite 
wisdom  and  goodness  of  God.  If  we  abhor  it 
for  this  reason,  we  shall  aibhor  all  sin  ;  and  if  we 
find  ourselves  hating  some  sins  and  loving  others, 
we  may  be  sure  that  we  hate  those  which  are  re- 
pugnant to  our  own  tastes,  and  love  those  w^hich 
are  in  conformity  with  them.  Thus  our  measure 
of  sin  is  in  ourselves,  and  not  in  God ;  and  we 
are  putting  ourselves  in   place   of  God,  —  woi; 


CHARACTER.  27 

shipping  the  idol  self,  instead  of  our  Father  in 
heaven. 

The  Lord  was  very  explicit  in  his  teachings 
regarding  the  necessity  of  the  denial  of  self;  but 
this  is  the  last  thing  in  which  we  are  willing  to 
obey  him.  We  profess  to  be  willing  and  eager 
to  do  a  great  deal  of  good  ;  but  when  conscience 
tells  us  that  we  must  do  the  will  of  God  every 
moment  of  our  lives,  we  turn  away  with  a  sor- 
rowful countenance;  for  there  are  many  things 
in  which  we  wish  to  follow  our  own  wills  with- 
out stopping  to  consult  the  will  of  God,  and  we 
wish  to  believe  that  we  can  do  this  and  yet  be 
quite  virtuous  enough  to  insure  salvation.  While 
the  natural  man  is  strong  within  us,  we  are  ever 
striving  to  serve  God  and  mammon ;  but  when 
the  spiritual  man  is  born,  we  are  willing  to  give 
up  all  else  and  follow  the  Lord.  Then,  we  feel 
that  we  cannot  be  truly  virtuous,  because  we  are, 
in  some  points,  very  scrupulous,  while  in  others 
we  are  very  indifferent;  for  we  perceive  that 
goodness  is  the  harmonious  development  of  the 
whole  Character  into  accordance  with  the  will  of 
God. 

So  long  as  we  labor  for  ourselves  we  shall  be,  at 
best,  only  special  reformers,  and  cultivators  of  spe- 
cial virtues ;  but  when  we  are  ready  to  deny  our- 
selves, and  to  do  the  will  of  God,  all  sin  will  be- 
come abhorrent  to  us,  and  we  shall  grow  in  grace 
daily  until  we  become  perfected  in  that  symmet- 


28  THE    ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

rical  form  of  man,  which  is  the  image  and  like- 
ness of  God ;  and  every  faculty  of  the  heart  and 
of  the  head  will  then  be  baptized  into  the  name 
of  the  Father,  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 


THE    HUMAN    TRINITY. 


"  II  is  this  trinity  of  man,  —  for  man  is  the  image  of  his  God,  in  whom  is  the 
essential  Trinity,  —  under  which  hia  whole  character  must  be  studied."  — KiN- 

UONT. 


Man  being  created  in  the  image  and  likeness 
of  God,  we  must  of  necessity  find  in  him  a 
finite  organisation  corresponding  with  the  infinite 
organization  of  the  Creator.  In  the  Infinite  Di- 
vine Trinity  there  are  the  Divine  Goodness  or 
Love,  the  Divine  Truth  or  Wisdom,  and  the 
Divine  Operation  or  the  manifestation  of  the 
other  two  in  and  upon  the  universe:. in  other 
words,  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.  In  the 
human,  finite  trinity,  we  have,  corresponding 
with  these.  Affection,  Understanding,  and  Use, 
or  external  life.  Divinity  being  the  embodiment 
of  infinite  order,  its  parts  act  in  a  sequence  of 
absolute  perfection;  that  is,  absolute  love  by 
means  of  absolute  wisdom  exhibits  itself  in  abso- 
lute use.  Speaking  with  exactness,  the  word 
sequence  is  out  bf  place  in  this  connection,  be- 


30  THE   ELEMENTS   OF    CHARACTEK. 

cause  with  the  Divinity,  love,  wisdom,  and  oper- 
ation are  simultaneous ;  but  he  has  separated 
them  in  his  ultimate  manifestations,  and  we  are 
obliged  to  separate  them  in  our  analysis,  in  order 
that  they  may  in  any  degree  come  within  the 
compass  of  human  comprehension. 

Man,  in  his  primeval  innocence,  was  a  genuine 
image  and  likeness  of  the  All-perfect  Divinity; 
perfect  after  the  same  manner,  but  on  a  lower 
plane.  There  was  then  no  antagonism  between 
the  creature  and  the  Creator ;  and  the  finite 
naturally  and  joyfully  obeyed  the  infinite;  for 
in  obedience  to  the  will  of  the  Heavenly  Father 
it  found  sustenance  for  the  soul  as  manifestly 
as  in  meat  and  drink  for  the  body.  The  prog- 
ress of  time  saw  the  creature  turn  from  the  love 
of  God  to  the  love  of  self,  —  from  seeking  the 
truth  of  God  to  seeking  out  its  own  vain  imag- 
inations, and  from  performing  the  orderly  uses 
of  a  life  of  charity  to  all  the  disorderly  indul- 
gencies  gf  selfish  passion.  Instead  of  worshipping 
the  living  God,  man  now  invented  idols  repre- 
senting his  own  evil  passions,  and  bowed  before 
them  in  adoring  admiration ;  for  the  attributes 
wherewith  he  clothed  them  were  fitting  forces  to 
stimulate  his  progress  along  the  pathway  he  had 
chosen,  where  life  was  made  hideous  by  the 
lowering  shadows  of  rapine  and  murder. 

The  first  Church,  represented  by  Adam  and 
Eve,  is  the  general  type  of  every  Church  that  has 


THE    HITMAN    TRINITY.  31 

followed  it,  and  of  every  unregenerate  individual 
in  those  Churches.  Instead  of  looking  to  God 
as  the  source  of  all  wisdom,  there  is  ever  the  de- 
sire to  eat  of,  or  make  our  own,  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge,  that  we  may  know  of  our- 
selves good  from  evil ;  and  that  we  may  do  of 
ourselves  What  seems  to  us  right ;  and  instead  of 
penitence  for  sin  and  an  endeavor  after  reforma- 
tion, there  is  a  striving  to  conceal  our  unfaithful- 
ness. The  covering  assumed  by  those  who,  in 
Scripture,  stand  as  the  parents  of  mankind,  is 
the  perpetual  type  of  the  subterfuges  we  all  in- 
vent to  hide  our  disobedience  from  our  God, 
from  our  neighbors,  nay,  even  from  ourselves. 
The  primal  image  and  likeness  of  God  has  be- 
come so  defaced,  distorted,  and  broken,  that  it  is 
•often  hard  to  find  a  remnant  still  testifying  to  its 
Divine  origin.  Let  us  rise  up  from  among  these 
shattered  fragments,  and  contemplate  for  a  while 
the  means  of  bringing  the  poor,  fallen  human  na- 
nature  into  harmony  with  the  divine ;  —  let  us  de- 
velop, if  we  can,  a  system  that  may  aid  us  in 
training  our  faculties,  so  that  the  Affections  shall 
be  pure,  the  Understanding  wise,  and  Life  the 
harmonious  exponent  of  both. 

Inthe  attempt  to  restore  our  being  to  its  orig- 
inal symmetry,  the  intellectual  part  of  the  nature 
must  not  be  cultivated  at  the  expense  of  the 
affectional,  nor  should  the  affectional  be  suffered 
to  run  riot  with  the  intellectual.     Love  must  be 


32  THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

wise,  and  wisdom  must  be  affectionate,  or  life 
will  fail  of  its  end.  External  morality  has  no  re- 
liable foundation  unless  it  be  built  on  morality 
of  thought  and  affection.  Apart  from  these,  it  is 
either  the  result  of  a  happy  organization  that  de- 
mands no  disorderly  indulgence,  or  it  is  the  fig- 
leaf  garment  of  deceit,  put  on  by  those  who 
strive  to  seem  rather  than  to  be. 

Ih  the  just  training  of  Character,  if  we  first 
learn  to  understand  the  capacities  and  relations 
of  Affection,  Thought,  and  Life,  and  look  within 
our  own  natures  until  we  learn  to  comprehend 
how  everything  pertaining  to  our  being  belongs 
to  one  of  these  departments,  we  shall  better  ap- 
preciate the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  before  we 
shall  be  willing  to  make  everything  that  we  do 
the  honest  outbirth  of  everything  that  we  are. 
Pretence  and  hypocrisy,  subterfuge  and  falsehood, 
will  then  disappear,  and  life  will  become  the 
adequate  expression  of  symmetrical  Character. 

The  intellectual  part  of  our  being  may  be  bet- 
ter understood  if  divided  into  two  departments, 
viz..  Thought  and  Imagination,  —  the  subjective 
and  the  objective.  Thought  can  be  lifted  up 
into  the  Affections,  and  made  manifest  in  Life 
only  through  the  medium  of  the  Imagination. 
Thought  is  at  first  a  pure  abstraction,  a  subjec- 
tive idea,  —  something  entirely  within  the  mind, 
and  having  no  relation  to  conduct,  —  a  seed 
sown,  but  not  germinated ;  and  while  it  remains 


THE    HUMAN    TRINITY.  33 

thus  it  has  no  influence  upon  the  Affections.  If, 
however,  it  germinate,  the  next  step  in  its  exist- 
ence is  to  become  an  objective  idea;  and  now  it 
has  lost  its  abstract  quality  and  become  an  iiA- 
age.  In  its  first  state  it  is  neither  agreeable  nor 
disagreeable  to  the  mind,  but  so  soon  as  it  takes 
a  distinctive  form  it  becomes  either  pleasing  or 
displeasing,  and  is  either  cast  away  and  forgot- 
ten, or  retained  and  expanded  by  the  Affections, 
whose  office  it  is  to  cause  Thought  to  become  a 
vital  reality,  ready  to  show  itself  in  the  external 
life  so  soon  as  a  fitting  occasion  calls  for  its 
manifestation. 

Thought  is  like  water.  Sometimes  it  glides 
over  the  mind  as  over  a  bed  of  rock ;  neither 
softening  nor  fertilizing ;  but  when  it  is  made  a 
possible  reality  by  the  Imagination,  and  a  vital 
reality  by  the  Affections,  it  is  now  like  a  stream, 
flowing  through  rich  farms  and  gardens,  fertiliz- 
ing wherever  it  comes  ;  and  again,  like  waterfalls, 
furnishing  power  to  set  ideas  in  motion,  that 
shall  give  nutriment  and  warmth  to  the  souls  of 
millions. 

The  Lord,  when  he  would  condense  religion 
into  its  narrowest  compass,  commands  us  to  love 
the  Heavenly  Father  with  the  whole  heart  and 
soul  and  mind  and  strength.  Can  this  signify 
anything  else  than  that  Affection,  Imagination, 
and  Thought,  in  their  whole  strength,  or  brought 
down  into  the  ultimates  of  life,  must  be  conse- 
3 


34  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

crated,  to  the  Divine  Creator  of  them  all  ?  So  St. 
Paul,  when  he  would  sum  up  the  whole  Christian 
system  in  a  single  phrase,  exclaims :  "  Faith, 
Hope,  Charity.  The  greatest  of  these  is  Char- 
ity." Faith  here  expresses  the  religion  of  Thought, 
Hope  the  religion  of  the  Imagination,  and  Char- 
ity the  religion  of  the  Affections,  which  is  great- 
est of  all  because  it  is  the  vitalization  of  the 
other  two. 

Every  act  that  we  voluntarily  perform,  whether 
good  or  evil,  first  entered  the  mind  as  an  abstract 
Thought;  it  was  then  shaped  by  the  Imagina- 
tion until  it  became  a  definite  idea  ;  next,  it  was 
claimed  as  a  child  by  the  Affections ;  and  lastly, 
it  was  by  the  Affections  made  to  come  out  into 
a  use  of  love  or  an  abuse  of  hate. 

Many  thoughts  die  in  the  mind  without  pass- 
ing through  all  these  stages.  We  sometimes 
hear  a  sermon  that  fills  our  Thoughts  as  we 
listen,  and  yet  we  forget  it  all  as  we  turn  away 
from  the  church  door;  for  it  went  no  deeper  than 
our  Thoughts.  At  another  time,  what  we  iiear 
goes  with  us  to  our  homes,  haunts  us  through 
the  week,  and  perhaps  is  made  a  standard 
whereby  to  measure  the  virtues  or  the  vices  of 
our  neighbors  ;  possibly  even,  we  try  ourselves  by 
its  rule,  and  our  consciences  are  roused  to  pierce 
us  with  the  sharp  pang  of  remorse.  All  this, 
however,  brings  no  change  over  our  lives.  Here 
Thought  has  passed  into  Imagination,  has  be- 


TJE    HUMAN    TRINITY.  35 

come  a  reality  to  the  mind ;  but  as  yet  the  Affec- 
tions do  not  warm  towards  it,  and  so  it  dies  in 
the  second  stage  of  existence.  Yet,  again,  we 
listen  to  the  voice  of  the  preacher,  and  his  words 
abide  in  the  soul  until  they  quicken  our  Affec- 
tions, and  as  we  muse  the  fire  burns.  Then 
are  our  eyes  lightened  to  perceive  how  all  that 
we  have  heard  may  become  realized  in  life ;  and 
warmed  by  the  heavenly  flame  that  has  de- 
scended upon  our  altar,  our  souls  kindle  with 
charity,  and  we  go  forth  to  realize  the  hope  that 
is  within  us  in  works  of  angelic  use. 

This  process  of  the  mind  is  not  confined  to  the 
religious  part  of  our  being.  It  goes  on  perpetu- 
ally in  our  intellectual  no  less  than  our  moral 
nature.  Our  success  in  using  whatever  we  learn 
in  every  department,  the  wisdom  or  the  folly  of 
everything  we  do,  whether  relating  to  intellectual, 
to  religious,  or  to  practical  life,  depends  on  the 
faithfulness  with  which  we  apply  these  three 
powers  to  whatever  is  presented  to  them. 

Look  in  upon  the  assembled  members  of  a 
school,  of  any  grade  from  primary  to  collegiate, 
and  you  will  see  one  set  of  pupils  with  stolid 
faces  conning  their  tasks,  as  if  they  were  indeed 
tasks  in  the  hardest  sense  of  the  term,  and  then 
reciting  them  word  for  word,  in  a  monotonous 
tone,  as  if  their  voices  came  from  automata,  and 
not  from  living  throats.  These  are  they  who 
study  only  with  their  Thoughts,  and  whose  Im- 


36        THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

aginations  and  Affections  are  untouched  by 
all  that  passes  through  their  minds.  Scattered 
among  the  preceding  another  class  may  be  found, 
with  quickly  glancing  eyes,  who  seem  all  alive  to 
everything  they  study,  who  recite  with  earnest 
tones,  and  whose  faces  are  bright  with  expres- 
sion. Here  the  Imagination  is  at  work,  and 
everything  the  mind  seizes  upon  stands  there  at 
once  a  living  picture.  These  are  the  brilliant 
scholars,  who  carry  off  all  the  prizes,  and  win  all 
admiration.  There  is  still  a  third  class,  of  a 
calmer  aspect.  Its  members  may  not  shine  so 
brightly,  but  there  is  more  warmth  in  their  rays. 
They  will  not  learn  so  much  nor  so  rapidly  as 
those  of  the  second  class,  but  their  whole  being  is 
permeated  by  what  they  know.  They  are  con- 
stantly studying  the  relations  of  the  things  that 
they  learn  to  each  other  and  to  life ;  and  are  en- 
deavoring to  form  themselves  in  accordance  with 
the  rationality  they  thus  acquire ;  for  their  Affec- 
tions have  fastened  themselves  upon  it,  and  it  is 
therefore  becoming  a  part  of  their  being. 

When  these  three  classes  of  pupils  become 
men  and  women,  and  go  forth  into  the  various 
walks  of  life,  the  first,  if  they  attempt  any  handi- 
craft, are  the  botchers  and  bunglers,  who  bring 
little  more  than  their  hands  to  anything  that  they 
do  ;  and  who,  therefore,  do  nothing  well.  They 
are  the  dead  weights  of  society,  that  must  be 
helped  through  life  by  their  more  active  neigh- 


THE   HITMAN   TRINITY.  87 

bors.  If  they  are  scholars,  they  are  collectors  of 
facts,  which  they  pile  up  in  their  memories  as  a 
miser  heaps  his  gold,  for  no  end  but  the  pleasure 
of  heaping.  They  make  physicians  without 
resource,  lawyers  without  discernment,  preach- 
ers who  dole  out  divinity  in  its  baldest  and 
heaviest  forms. 

Those  of  the  second  class  are  always  better  in 
theory  than  in  practice  ;  for  with  them  zeal  ever 
runs  before  knowledge.  They  will  delight  in 
telling  how  a  thing  should  be  done,  but  will  find 
it  very  difficult  to  do  it  themselves.  A  black- 
smith of  this  class  will  tell  with  great  exactness 
how  a  horse  should  be  shod,  but  if  trusted  to 
perform  that  office,  ten  to  one  the  poor  animal 
will  go  limping  from  his  hands.  So  a  carpenter 
of  the  same  class  will  be  full  of  plans  and  fan- 
cies that  he  will  wish  to  carry  out  for  the  benefit 
of  his  employers  ;  but  his  work,  when  completed, 
though  perhaps  elegant  and  ornamental,  will 
probably  be  inappropriate  in  appearance,  and  not 
adapted  to  the  use  for  which  it  was  intended. 
From  this  class  come  inventors  of  machines  that 
are  never  heard  of  after  they  get  into  the  patent- 
office,  schemers  and  speculators  whose  plans  end 
in  ruin,  boon  companions,  brilliant  talkers,  spark- 
ling orators,  elegant  and  ornate  poets  who  sing 
blithely  for  their  own  day  and  generation,  preach- 
ers and  statesmen  who  are  ever  led  away  by 
Utopian   and  millennial  dreams ;  in  ^hort,  men 


38  THE    ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

who  may  shine  while  they  live,  but  are  seldom 
remembered  when  they  die. 

The  third  class  are  men  of  mark  in  whatever 
walk  of  life  they  are  found  ;  —  men  to  be  relied 
upon  for  whatever  they  may  undertake.  They 
are  men  who  can  produce  in  Life  what  their 
Understandings  know  and  imagine ;  or,  rather; 
who  know  how  to  select  from  their  stores  of 
Thought  and  Imagination  whatever  may  be 
realized  in  Life.  If  they  are  mechanics,  their 
work  is  the  best  of  its  kind,  and  precisely  adapt- 
ed to  the  use  for  which  it  was  intended ;  if  they 
are  machinists,  their  inventions  are  those  that 
ameliorate  the  condition  of  society  ;  if  merchants 
or  speculators,  they  do  not  run  after  bubbles ; 
if  devoted  to  intellectual  pursuits,  they  are  di- 
vines whose  thoughts  thrill  the  souls  of  men  for 
centuries,  founders  of  new  schools  of  philosophy, 
lawgivers,  and  statesmen  who  are  remembered 
with  gratitude  as  the  fathers  of  nations,  poets 
whose  words  are  destined  to  live  so  long  as  the 
language  in  which  they  write  is  spoken,  —  nay, 
who  shall  cause  their  language  to  be  studied 
ages  after  all  who  spoke  it  have  passed  from  the 
face  of  the  earth. 

The  women  who  belong  to  these  several  classes 
are  characterized  in  like  manner,  though  their 
more  retired  lives  prevent  them  from  displaying 
their  traits  so  conspicuously.  Those  of  the  first 
class  are  dress-makers  whose  work  never  fits,  mil- 


THE    HUMAN    TRINITY.  39 

liners  whose  bonnets  look  as  if  they  were  not 
intended  for  the  wearers,  servants  who  do  nothing 
rightly  unless  the  eye  of  their  mistress  is  upon 
them,  teachers  whose  pupils  are  taught  as  if  they 
'  were  beings  without  life  or  reason  ;  and  in  their 
highest  relations,  as  wives  and  mothers,  they  are 
those  with  whom  nothing  goes  as  it  should, 
whose  daily  lives  are  but  a  succession  of  mis- 
takes and  catastrophies,  whose  husbands  never 
find  a  comfortable  home  to  which  they  may  re- 
turn for  repose  after  a  day  of  toil,  whose  children 
are  "  dragged  up,  not  brought  up." 

In  the  second  class  are  servants  who  have  a 
quick  perception  of  what  is  to  be  done,  and  who 
make  all  that  is  directly  apparent  to  the  eye  look 
well,^ut  a  closer  observation  shows  many  an 
unswept  corner  and  neglected  duty ;  dress-mak- 
ers and  milliners  whose  work  is  ornamental,  taste- 
ful, and  becoming,  though  the  ornamentation  is 
apt  to  be  too  great  for  the  value  of  the  material, 
and  the  work  will  now  and  then  come  in  pieces 
for  lack  of  being  thoroughly  finished  ;  teachers  who 
infuse  brightness  and  quickness  into  their  schol- 
ars, but  whose  instructions  are  more  showy  than 
solid.  In  their  housekeeping  they  understand 
"  putting  the  best  foot  foremost,"  and  making  a 
great  deal  of  ornament  where  there  may  be  but 
little  of  anything  else;  but  they  lack  the  prac- 
tical skill  that  makes  a  housekeeper  successful 
in  the  essentials  that  constitute  comfort.     They 


40       -  THE   ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

will  seek  to  make  their  children  accomplished 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  who  will  be  agreeable  in 
society,  rather  than  well-trained  men  and  women, 
capable  of  meeting  the  duties  and  emergencies  of 
life. 

The  third  class  of  women  are  the  reliable  ones, 
wherever  they  may  be  found.  They  do  every- 
thing they  attempt  well,  because  there  is  a  sense 
of  fitness  and  propriety  in  them  which  is  dis- 
turbed by  things  badly  done,  and  which  gives 
them  an  almost  intuitive  faith,  that  if  a  thing  is 
worth  doing  at  all,  it  is  worth  doing  well.  They 
are  not  eye-servants,  but  faithful  in  all  things. 
Thoroughness  pervades  whatever  they  do,  in  all 
departments  of  life.  They  are  not  satisfied  with 
making  a  dress  or  a  bonnet  that  is  becoming,  un- 
less it  is  well  finished  and  appropriate.  They 
are  the  thorough  teachers  who  are  willing  to 
have  their  schools  examined  every  day  in  the  year, 
who  seek  to  know  the  capacities  of  their  pupils, 
and  to  educate  them  accordingly.  They  are  the 
mothers  whose  children  are  obedient  and  trained 
for  the  uses  of  life  no  less  than  for  its  pleasures ; 
the  wives  whose  husbands  are  happy  in  their 
homes  if  they  are  capable  of  being  happy  any- 
where. 

When  we  contemplate  these  three  classes  of 
human  beings,  we  perceive  that  only  one  of 
them  can  be  said  to  lead  successful  lives.  Two 
classes,  and  both  of  them  painfully  numerous, 


THE    HUMAN    TRINITY.  41 

fail.  The  question  rises  to  the  mind  with  fearful 
solemnity,  were  they  created  for  this  end, —  cre- 
ated to  fail  ?  Can  we  for  a  single  moment  be- 
lieve that  a  Father  of  infinite  justice  and  mercy 
ever  created  one  individual  among  his  children, 
an  accountable  being,  neither  insane  nor  idiotic, 
and  yet  so  imperfect  that  he  must  fail  ?  Surely  it 
were  blasphemy  to  hold  such  an  act  possible. 
Infinitely  various  are  the  works  of  his  hand  in 
the  forms  of  humanity,  as  in  every  other  depart- 
ment of  the  universe,  but  even  so  manifold  are 
the  varieties  and  degrees  of  service  which  he  pre- 
pares for  every  one  to  do.  There  is  a  place  and 
a  use  for  every  one,  and  whoever  fails  of  finding 
a  place  and  a  use  fails,  not  because  he  was  creat- 
ed incompetent,  but  because  he  refuses  to  culti- 
vate the  powers  wherewith  he  is  endowed.  In- 
dolence and  selfishness,  the  moth  and  rust  of 
Character,  are  corroding  and  devouring  the  deli- 
cate organization  of  the  internal  man,  which  can 
retain  the  wholeness  and  brightness  of  its  powers 
only  by  constant  use.  We  are  weak  and  useless, 
not  because  we  were  created  to  be  so,  but  be- 
cause we  do  not  listen  to  the  voice  of  conscience 
when  it  tells  us  to  serve  the  Lord  with  all  our 
strength,  in  the  very  place  where  we  now  are, 
and  at  the  very  time  that  now  is.  It  is  not  be- 
cause the  power  of  growth  is  not  in  them  that 
our  talents  do  not  multiply,  but  because  we  fold 
them  in  a  napkin  of  indifference,  and  bury  them 


42  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

in  the  earth  of  our  lower  nature.  Understand- 
ing and  Affection  are  within  us  all,  and  if  they 
do  not  develop  into  a  life  of  use,  into  a  Char- 
acter that  will  fit  us  for  heaven,  —  and  this  is 
what  we  should  always  keep  before  our  minds  as 
the  only  genuine  sruccess,  —  it  is  because  we  have 
not  striven  as  we  might  and  ought. 

Understanding  and  Affection  are  within  us  all, 
differing,  not  in  kind,  but  only  in  degree ;  and  they 
are  constantly  at  work,  involuntarily  if  we  do  not 
voluntarily  assume  their  control.  In  the  little 
child  they  work  as  involuntarily  as  the  heart 
beats  and  the  lungs  respire  ;  but  so  soon  as  the 
child  is  old  enough  to  begin  to  know  the  differ- 
ence between  right  and  wrong,  the  action  of 
these  powers  should  begin  to  be  voluntary; 
should  begin  to  be  under  the  guidance  of  con- 
science. 

Some  persons  call  these  powers  into  volun- 
tary action  from  motives  of  mere  worldly  wis- 
dom. Every  one  does  so  who  places  some  ob- 
ject before  himself,  and  cultivates  his  powers 
with  a  special  view  to  attain  perfection  therein. 
The  pickpocket,  the  gambler,  the  housebreaker, 
must  do  it  before  they  can  attain  skill  in  their 
depravity.  The  worldling  does  it  who  follows 
an  honorable  profession  with  all  his  heart  and 
soul  and  mind  and  strength,  seeking  only  such 
rewards  as  Mammon  bestows  upon  his  vot- 
aries.   Whether  all  these  are  to  be  successful  in 


THE    HUMAN    TRINITY.  43 

attaining  the  rewards  they  seek,  is  a  matter  of 
entire  uncertainty ;  for  Providence  permits  ot 
withholds  worldly  success  in  a  way  that  we  can- 
not anticipate,  nor  but  imperfectly  understand. 
We  may  bear  the  heavy  yoke  of  Mammon  until 
it  wear  into  the  very  marrow  of  our  bones,  and  yet 
gain  nothing  but  poverty  and  disgrace.  They, 
hojvever,  who  by  a  voluntary  action  of  the  powers 
endeavor  to  become  perfected  in  the  stature  of 
Christian  men  and  women, — who  seek  first  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  and  its  righteousness,  using 
all  things  of  this  world  only  as  rounds  of  that 
ladder  whose  summit  is  in  the  heavens,  even 
while  its  base  rests  upon  the  earth,  are  sure  of 
the  reward  they  seek ;  and  the  yoke  that  they 
bear  will  grow  more  light  and  easy  with  each  re- 
volving year. 

There  are  many  persons  who  seem  to  belong 
by  turns  to  each  of  the  three  great  classes  that 
have  been  described.  These  exercise  their  powers 
involuntarily.  They  cannot  be  depended  upon, 
for  they  are  not  balanced  Characters.  If  they 
happen  to  like  what  they  are  doing,  or  happen  to 
feel  in  the  mood  of  doing  it,  they  will  do  it  well ; 
otherwise,  they  do  not  care  how  badly  their  work 
is  performed,  if  it  only  can  be  got  through  with. 
They  have  not  waked  to  the  consciousness  that 
we  have  no  right  to  do  anything  badly,  because 
whenever  we  do  so  we  impair  our  own  faculties, 
and  thereby  diminish  our  powers  of  usefulness ; 


44  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

while,  if  the  act  concerns  any  one  beside  our- 
selves, —  as  almost  all  acts  do,  —  we  are  wrong- 
ing our  neighbor. 

Many  persons  are  so  fortunate,  women  espe- 
cially almost  always  so,  as  to  have  enough  em- 
ployment placed  before  them  by  the  circumstan- 
ces of  their  position,  without  any  effort  of  choice 
on  their  part,  to  occupy  their  time,  and  to  trgiin 
their  faculties.  Those  who  are  not  thus  set  to 
work  by  circumstance  should  be  governed  in  the 
selection  of  their  employment  by  their  own  in- 
clination and  talents.  What  we  love  to  do  we 
can  learn  to  do  well,  and  our  work  will  then  be 
agreeable  to  us.  Many  persons  are  governed  in 
the  choice  of  employment  for  themselves  or  for 
their  children  by  a  stronger  consideration  for 
what  is  honorable  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  than 
by  talent  or  taste.  Thence  it  often  results  that 
persons  fail  ever  to  fulfil  the  duties  they  have 
chosen  in  a  way  to  be  satisfactory  to  any  one 
beside  themselves,  perhaps  not  even  to  them- 
selves. If  they  have  sufficient  force  of  Character 
to  do  well  in  spite  of  not  doing  what  they  like, 
they  are  still  never  so  happy  as  they  would  have 
been  had  inclination  been  consulted.  Where  the 
heart  is  really  in  the  employment,  work  is  not  a 
burden,  but  a  natural  and  pleasant  exercise  of 
the  powers ;  and  it  becomes  comparatively  easy 
to  serve  the  Lord  with  all  the  strength. 

Those  who  are  not  constrained  to  work,  should 


THE   HUMAN  TRINITY.  45 

remember  that  a  life  of  idleness  cannot  be  a  life 
of  innocence ;  for  the  idle  cannot  serve  the  Lord. 
A  life  that  does  not  cultivate  one's  own  capaci- 
ties, and  aid  either  in  supplying  the  wants  or  cul- 
tivating the  capacities  of  some  one  beside  self,  is 
no  preparation  for  heaven ;  for  the  heavenly  life 
is  one  of  perpetual  advance,  because  of  untiring 
use. 

There  is  no  station  in  life  where  there  is  not  a 
constant  demand  for  the  exercise  of  charity.  We 
cannot  be  in  company  an  hour  with  any  person 
without  some  such  demand  presenting  itself  to 
us.  The  daily  intercourse  of  life  places  it  con- 
stantly in  our  power  to  make  some  person  more 
or  less  happy  than  he  now  is,  and  accordingly 
as  we  may  choose  between  these  two  modes 
of  action  we  are  fulfilling  or  setting  aside  the 
law  of  charity. 

No  class  of  human  beings  bears  a  more  heavy 
weight  of  responsibility  than  that  which  is  placed 
beyond  the  necessity  of  effort ;  and  there  is  none 
whose  position  has  a  stronger  tendency  to  blind 
it  to  the  calls  of  duty.  Although  ev6ry  gift  be- 
stowed upon  us  by  providence,  whether  of  mind, 
body,  or  estate,  is  but  another  talent,  for  the  em- 
ployment of  which  we  must  be  one  day  called  to 
account,  yet  these  added  talents  too  often  ex- 
cite in  us  a  feeling  of  superiority  which  induces 
us  to  demand  that  others  should  minister  to  us, 
and  causes  us  to  forget  that  he  who  would  be 


46  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

greatest  must  be  so  by  doing  more  and  greater 
services  than  others,  and  not  by  receiving  them. 

Persons  whose  position  places  them  beyond 
the  need  of  effort,  would  do  well  to  select  some 
special  study  or  employment  to  occupy  and  de- 
y,elop  their  mental  life,  and  save  them  from  the 
inanity,  ennui,  and  selfishness  that  are'  sure  to 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  idleness.  Poverty  of 
mind  is  rendered  all  the  more  prominent  and  dis- 
gusting if  accompanied  by  external  wealth;  and 
to  such  a  mind  wealth  is  but  a  means  to  folly,  if 
to  nothing  worse. 

Neither  wealth  nor  poverty,  neither  strength 
nor  weakness,  neither  genius  nor  the  want  of  it, 
neither  ten  talents  nor  one,  can  excuse  any 
human  being  from  training  his  faculties  in  a  way 
to  develop  them  to  the  utmost,  and  forming 
them  into  a  symmetrical  whole,  the  type  of  a 
true  humanity 


In  the  following  essays  it  may  seem  to  the 
reader  that  there  is  contradiction  in  treating  each 
power  of  the  mind  as  though  its  perfect  training 
resulted  in  the  upbuilding  of  a  perfect  Character ; 
but  the  union  between  these  capacities  is  so  inti- 
mate that  one  caiinot  be  rightly  trained  unless  all 
the  others  are  trained  at  the  same  time.  We 
cannot  think  wisely  unless  we  imagine  truly,  and 


THE   HUMAN   TRINITY.  47 

love  rightly,  as  well  as  warmly.  We  cannot 
love  rightly  unless  we  think  justly,  and  imagine 
purely;  nor  can  we  imagine  purely  unless  we 
love  that  which  is  pure.  We  cannot  do  all  this 
unless  we  live  out  what  we  think,  imagine,  and 
love ;  for  the  inner  life  always  acts  narrowly  and 
superficially  unless  it  be  widened  and  deepened 
by  an  efficient  external  life.  What  we  do  must 
follow  closely  in  the  footsteps  of  what  we  know, 
if  we  would  arrive  at  breadth  and  depth  of  knowl- 
edge. So  fast  as  we  put  in  practice  what  we 
know  we  shall  be  able  to  receive  more  knowl- 
edge. We  are  told  by  the  Lord  that  our  knowl- 
edge of  truth  shall  be  enlarged  in  proportion  as 
we  are  obedient  to  the  divine  will.  "  If  any  man 
will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine." 

The  Divine  attributes  act  simultaneously  and 
equally  always  and  everywhere,  while  the  triune 
manifestation  is  a  merciful  adaptation  of  these 
attributes  to  the  comprehension  of  fallen  human- 
ity. Were  humanity  truly  regenerate,  the  action 
of  its  capacities  would  be  simultaneous  and  homo? 
geneous.  Even  in  its  present  state  these  capa- 
cities are  so  interlaced  that  one  cannot  act  strong- 
ly without  inducing  some  action  in  the  others ; 
just  as  in  the  physical  frame  the  brain,  the  heart, 
and  the  lungs  can  no  one  of  them  act  unless  all 
act  in  some  degree;  while  in  perfect  health  all 
act  in  the  fulness  of  perfect  harmony,  no  one 
organ  rendering  itself  prominent  by  being  more 


48  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

full  of  vitality  and  activity  than  another.  Dis- 
ease alone  renders  us  conscious  of  the  action  of 
any  one  vital  organ,  and  our  moral  diseases  hav- 
ing destroyed  the  harmonious  action  of  our  moral 
powers,  thereby  rendering  it  impossible  for  us  to 
appreciate  the  Divinity  in  the  full  harmony  of 
unity,  we  have  been  mercifully  permitted  to  at- 
tain to  such  knowledge  as  is  possible  to  us 
through  manifestations  of  the  Divine  attributes  in 
trinity.  In  proportion  as  our  faculties  are  trained 
to  act  in  harmony  we  shall  become  unconscious 
of  their  separate  functions;  and  in  the  same  pro- 
portion w^e  shall  become  capable  of  looking  upon 
the  Divinity  in  the  majesty  of  personal  unity, 
rather  than  in  the  separation  of  the  trinity. 


THOUGHT. 


It  ia  the  grandeur  of  all  truth  which  can  occupy  a  very  high  place  in  human 
interests,  that  it  is  nerer  absolutely  novel  to  the  meanest  of  minds :  it  exists 
eternally  by  way  of  germ  or  latent  principle  in  the  lowest  as  in  the  highest, 
needing  to  be  developed,  but  never  to  be  planted.  — De  Quincey. 


Many  persons  seem  to  suppose  that  the  power 
of  Thought,  or  at  least  the  power  of  thinking  to 
any  purpose,  is  a  natural  gift,  possessed  by  few, 
and  unattainable  by  the  many.  This  idea  is  a 
very  pernicious  error,  for  one  of  the  traits  by 
which  the  human  being  is  distinguished  from  the 
brute  is  the  possession  of  this  power ;  and  the 
progress  that  every  human  being  may  make  in 
learning  to  think  well  has  no  limit  but  the  uni- 
versal one  of  finite  capacity. 

The  distinction  made  between  thoughtful  and 
thoughtless  persons  is  commonly  one  of  intellect 
alone ;  it  should  be  quite  as  much  one  of  moral- 
ity. Considered  intellectually,  a  thoughtless  per- 
son cannot  be  successful  in  any  but  the  very  low- 
est walks  of  life.  He  brings  nothing  but  his 
4 


50         THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

bands  to  what  he  does.  If  these  be  strong,  he 
may  dig,  perhaps,  as  well  as  another  man,  but  he 
can  never  make  a  good  farmer ;  he  may  use  the 
axe  or  the  hammer  to  good  purpose,  but  he  can 
never  become  a  master-workman.  If  he  attempt 
anything  more  or  higher  than  what  his  hands 
can  do  under  the  guidance  of  another's  brain,  his 
effort  is  sure  to  be  followed  by  confusion  and 
failure.  Viewing  a  thoughtless  person  in  a  moral 
light,  he  cannot  be  religious,  he  cannot  be  virtu- 
ous, and,  unless  by  accident,  he  cannot  even  be 
externally  moral.  He  may,  perhaps,  perceive 
that  the  grosser  forms  of  wickedness  are  to  be 
avoided,  but  he  can  have  no  comprehension  of 
the  danger  involved  in  the  little  vices  of  every- 
day life ;  and  cannot  understand  how  every  one 
of  these  vices,  small  as  it  may  seem,  contains 
within  itself  the  germ  of  some  one  of  those  great 
and  shocking  sins  forbidden  in  the  command- 
ments. He  will,  therefore,  without  compunction, 
go  on  committing  these  small  sins  until  the  habit 
of  evil  becomes  so  fixed,  that,  if  he  does  not  end 
by  committing  great  ones,  it  is  more  frequently 
from  lack  of  temptation  than  from  any  worthier 
reason. 

The  thoughtless  person  can  never  be  depended 
upon  for  anything.  We  never  know  where  to 
find  him,  or  what  he  will  do  in  any  particular 
position  or  relation  of  life.  All  we  can  antici- 
pate of  him  is,  that  he  will  probably  do  some- 


THOUGHT.  51 

thing  bad,  or  silly,  or  improper ;  accordingly  as  the 
'  act  may  bear  upon  morality,  sense,  or  manners. 
Before  going  further,  let  it  be  understood  that 
a  thoughtless  person  is  not  one  without  Thought. 
A  human  being  without  Thought  is  an  impossi- 
bility. Most,  if  not  all,  idiots  think.  It  is  the 
lack  of  coherency,  purpose,  and  effort  in  Thought 
that  induces  the  habit  of  mind  commonly  known 
as  thoughtlessness.  Without  Thought,  Imagina- 
tion, and  Affection,  one  could  not  be  a  human 
being.  Mankind  differ  from  each  other,  not  in 
kind,  but  in  degree.  It  is  the  low  degree  of  ac- 
tivity in  either  of  these  great  divisions  of  the 
human  mind  that  causes  one  to  seem  thought- 
less, unimaginative,  or  without  affection.  The 
end  of  all  training  should  be  to  develop  each  one 
of  these  faculties  so  that  it  shall  cooperate  with 
the  others,  and  all  as  fully  as  possible.  A  just 
balance  of  power  is  the  first  requisite,  and  con- 
stant increase  of  it  the  second;  just  as  in  the 
physical  frame  we  ask,  first,  for  just  proportion, 
find,  as  the  product  of  this,  for  strength. 

It  is  often  said  that  no  kind  of  sense  is  so  rare 
as  common  sense ;  and  this  is  true,  simply  be- 
cause common  sense  is  attainable  by  all  far  more, 
and  is  a  natural  gift  far  less,  than  most  other 
traits  of  character.  Common  sense  is  the  appli- 
cation of  Thought  to  common  things,  and  it 
is  rare  because  most  persons  will  not  exercise  « 
Thought   about  common  things.     If  some  im- 


52  THE    ELEMENTS    OF   CHAHACTEK. 

portant  affair  occurs,  people  try  then  to  think, 
but  to  very  little  purpose ;  because,  not  having 
exercised  their  powers  on  small  things,  their 
powers  lack  the  development  necessary  for  great 
ones.  Hence,  thoughtless  people,  when  forced  to 
act  in  an  affair  of  importance,  blunder  through  it 
with  no  more  chance  of  doing  as  they  should 
than  one  would  have  of  hitting  a  small  or  distant 
mark  at  a  shooting-match,  if  previous  practice 
had  not  given  the  power  of  hitting  objects  that 
are  large  and  near. 

The  thoughtless  person  perpetually  acts  and 
speaks  as  if  it  were  of  no  consequence  what  is 
said  or  done.  If  any  one  venture  to  suggest  a 
different  mode  of  speech  or  action,  the  reply  is 
pretty  sure  to  be,  "  O,  it  is  of  no  consequence ! " 
As  if  an  immortal  being,  to  whom  a  few  short 
years  of  probation  had  been  given,  the  use  or 
abuse  of  which  must  give  character  to  an  eter- 
nity to  come,  could  do  or  say  what  would  have 
no  consequence !  Let  any  one  bring  distinctly 
before  himself  the  great  truth  that  we  stand  eveij^ 
in  the  presence  of  the  Almighty,  stewards  of  his 
bounty,  children  of  his  love,  and  could  it  be  pos- 
sible for  him  to  believe  that  it  is  of  no  conse- 
quence how  that  love  is  returned,  and  how  that 
bounty  is  used  ?  Every  word,  every  act  of  our 
lives,  is  either  a  use  or  an  abuse  of  his  bounty,  a 
showing  forth  either  of  our  love  for  or  our  indif- 
ference to  him.      Therefore,  every  word  and  act 


THOUGHT.  53 

has  a  consequence,  ending  not  with  the  hour  or 
day,  but  stretching  forward  into  eternity.  Let 
this  truth  be  admitted  to  the  mind,  and  who 
could  dare  to  be  thoughtless.  Who  would  not 
wish  to  return  the  infinite  love  poured  out  upon 
us,  by  consecrating  all  that  we  have  and  all  that 
we  are  to  the  service  of  the  Infinite  Father? 
When  this  consecration  takes  place,  all  pure 
aspirations  fill  the  heart,  while  the  mind  is  ever 
thinking  what  is  the  best  way  in  which  the  will 
of  the  Lord  may  be  done.  Thoughtlessness  has 
no  longer  an  abiding-place,  for  the  mind  now 
perceives  that  it  must  be  about  its  Fathers  busi- 
ness, and  Thought  becomes  a  delightful  and  in- 
vigorating exercise,  instead  of  the  wearisome 
effort  it  seemed  before. 

If  the  mind  hold  to  its  integrity,  without  re- 
lapsing into  its  former  state  of  blind  indifference 
to  its  high  vocation,  the  cultivation  of  the  power 
of  Thought  will  go  on  steadily  and  surely,  and 
the  mind  will  become  constantly  more  and  more 
clarified  from  all  folly  and  silliness. 

When  a  person  brings  everything  habitually  to 
the  standard  of  right  and  wrong,  he  gradually 
learns  to  judge  wisely  of  whatever  subject  he 
may  hold  under  consideration,  provided  he  does^ 
not  seek  for  that  standard  in  his  own  mind, 
but  in  the  mind  of  the  Lord,  as  he  has  given  it  to 
us  in  the  Word  of  eternal  life.  When  this  stand- 
ard is  sought  only  in  the  human  mind,  nothing 


54  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHAKACTER. 

is  fixed  or  permanent,  and  discord  abounds  in  so- 
ciety much  as  it  would  if  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  fingers  of  each  individual  were  to  be  sub- 
stituted for  the  standard  inch  and  foot  of  the  na- 
tion ;  but  if  the  Bible  be  honestly  and  humbly 
received  as  the  standard  by  which  to  judge  of 
right  and  wrong,  mankind  would  ever  abide  in 
brotherly  love  and  harmonious  union.  The  ele- 
ment of  discord  is  not  in  God's  work,  but  in  the 
mind  of  man  ;  and  man  becomes  truly  wise  and 
capable  of  concord  only  so  far  as,  forgetting  the 
devices  of  his  own  understanding,  he  becomes  a 
recipient  of  the  truth  that  descends  to  him  from 
on  high. 

It  may  bfe  objected  that  the  Bible  has  been 
the  fruitful  source  of  contention  and  war;  and 
some  may  suppose  it  cannot  therefore  be  a  stand- 
ard of  union  to  the  world ;  but  it  should  be  re- 
membered that,  when  it  has  become  a  cause  of 
dissension,  it  has  been  by  the  perversion  of  man, 
who  has  separated  doctrine  from  life,  —  has  put 
asunder  that  which  God  joined.  No  contention 
has  ever  risen  in  the  world  regarding  religious 
life,  but  many  and  terrible  ones  regarding  re- 
ligious doctrine  separated  from  life ;  and  it  is 
perfectly  apparent,  that,  had  those  who  were  en- 
gaged in  them,  looked  to  religious  life  with  the 
same  earnestness  they  did  toward  doctrine,  all 
these  dissensions  must  have  ceased.  Christian 
life  is,  as  it  were,  a  building,  of  which  faith  is  the 


THOUGHT.  55 

foundation.  The  foundation  is  subservient  to 
the  superstructure,  and  should  be  strong  and 
well  laid  ;  but  has  no  value  excepting  as  it  is  the 
support  of  a  worthy  building.  The  Lord  is  very 
explicit  in  all  his  teachings  on  the  subject  of  life, 
and  it  is  hardly  possible  that  any  one  could 
faithfully  study  his  words,  and  then  exalt  abstract 
doctrine  into  the  place  that  belongs  of  right  to 
Christian  life. 

Whoever  studies  the  direct  teachings  of  the 
Lord,  recorded  by  the  Evangelists,  and  makes 
them  the  rules  of  his  Thoughts,  must  necessarily 
be  wise.  Everything  connected  with  daily  life,  if 
his  mind  be  roiilly  permeated  with  these  teach- 
ings, takes  its  proper  place  before  him.  He  sees 
what  has  a  transient,  and  what  a  permanent 
value,  —  what  is  merely  temporal,  and  what  eter- 
nal ;  and  so  learns  to  appreciate  the  relative  value 
of  all  things.  Everything  that  occurs  becomes 
a  subject  for  his  thoughts  to  work  upon,  and 
while  working  in  heavenly  light  his  mind  grows 
in  wisdom  day  by  day.  This  action  of  Thought 
will  not  be  confined  to  events  as  they  occur 
around  him,  but  whatever  is  read,  all  the  events 
of  the  past,  all  art  and  science,  are  brought  under 
the  same  analysis.  The  thoughtless  person  reads 
merely  for  the  amusement  of  the  moment,  re- 
members little  of  what  he  reads,  and  that  little 
to  no  purpose.  A  fact  is,  to  such  a  man,  a  mere 
fact  standing  by  itself,  and  having  no  relation  to 


56  THE   ELEMENTS   OF   CHARACTEE. 

anything  else.  However  much  he  may  read, 
the  thoughtless  man  can  never  be  instructed. 
He  is  of  those  who,  seeing,  perceive  not,  and 
who,  hearing,  do  not  understand.  The  thought- 
ful person,  on  the  contrary,  reads  everything  with 
a  purpose.  His  mind  works  upon  what  he  reads, 
and  he  is  instructed  and  made  intelligent,  even 
though  he  may  see  only  with  the  light  of  this 
world.  His  intelligence  will,  however,  be  very 
different  and  very  inferior  in  degree  to  that  of  the 
man  who  looks  at  objects  in  the  light  of  heaven. 
He  will  measure  things  by  an  uncertain,  varying 
standard,  and  will  appreciate  things  only  accord- 
ing to  their  temporal  value.  He  will,  therefore, 
never  become  truly  wise.  With  those  whose 
minds  are  nurtured  by  the  words  of  the  Lord, 
everything  is  judged  by  the  standard  of  eternal 
truth.  Whatever  is  learned  is  digested  by  the 
thoughts,  and  so  the  powers  of  the  mind  are 
strengthened  and  enlarged.  Thus  the  mind  be- 
comes constantly  more  and  more  wise.  The 
merely  intellectual  man  has  the  desire  to  become 
wise,  but  his  eye  is  not  single,  and  therefore  his 
mind  is  obscured  by  many  clouds,  —  the  dark  ex- 
halations of  worldliness.  When  a  man  fixes  his 
eye  upon  the  Lord  he  is  filled  with  light,  and  sees 
with  a  clearness  of  vision  such  as  can  be  gained 
from  no  other  source. 

The  cultivation  of  Thought  lies  at  the  root  of 
all  intellectuality,  while  it  elevates  and  enlarges 


THOUGHT.  57 

the  sphere  of  the  Affections.  Affection  is  above 
Thought,  but  it  is  sustained  and  invigorated  by 
its  influence.  Thought  being  the  foundation 
upon  which  Affection  is  built,  the  strength,  perma- 
nence and  reliability  of  Affection  must  depend 
on  the  solidity  and  justice  of  the  underlying 
Thought. 

The  mind  may  be  stored  with  the  most  varied 
and  extensive  knowledge,  and  yet  be  neither  im- 
proved nor  adorned  thereby.  Robert  Hall  once 
remarked  of  an  acquaintance,  that  he  had  piled 
such  an  amount  of  learning  upon  his  brain,  it 
could  not  move  under  the  weight.  It  is  little 
matter  whether  the  araount  of  learning  be  large 
or  small ;  the  brain  is  only  encumbered  by  it,  un- 
less it  has  taken  it  into  its  own  texture,  and  made 
it  by  Thought  a  part  of  itself.  Some  persons 
love  facts  as  a  miser  loves  gold,  merely  because 
they  are  possessions ;  but  without  any  desire  to 
make  use  of  them.  A  fact  or  thought  is  just  as 
valuable  in  itself  as  a  piece  of  money.  Gold  and 
silver  are  neither  food,  nor  raiment,  nor  shelter ; 
but  we  value  them  because  through  their  means 
we  can  obtain  all  these.  So  facts  and  thoughts 
are  neither  rationality,  nor  wisdom,  nor  virtue, 
and  their  value  lies  in  their  being  mediums 
whereby  we  may  obtain  them  all. 

Undigested  learning  is  as  useless  and  oppres- 
sive as  undigested  food ;  and  as  in  the  dyspeptic 
patient  the  appetite  for  food  often  grows  with  the 


58  THE   ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

inability  to  digest  it,  so  in  the  unthinking  patient 
an  overweening   desire   to   know   often   accom- 
panies  the   inability  to   know  to   any  purpose. 
Thought  is  to  the  brain  what  gastric  juice  is  to 
the  stomach,  —  a  solvent  to  reduce  whatever  is  re- 
ceived to  a  condition  in  which  all  that  is  whole- 
some and  nutritive  may  be  appropriated,  and  that 
alone.     To  learn  merely  for  the  sake   of  learn- 
ing, is  like  eating  merely  for  the  taste  of  the 
food.     The  mind  will  wax  fat  and  unwieldy,  like 
the  body  of  the  gormand.     The  stomach  is  to 
the  frame  what  memory  is  to  the  mind ;  and  it  is 
as  unwise  to  cultivate  the  memory  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  mind,  as  it  would  be  to  enlarge  the 
capacity  of  the.  stomach  by  eating  more   food 
than  the  wants  of  the  frame  require,  or  food  of  a 
quality  that  it  could  not  appropriate.     To  learn 
in  order  to  become  wise  makes  the  mind  active 
and  powerful,  like  the  body  of  one  who  is  tem- 
perate and  judicious  in  meat  and  drink.     Learn- 
ing is  healthfully  digested  by  the  mind  when  it 
reflects    upon    what    is   learned,    classifies    and 
arranges  facts  and  circumstances,  considers  the 
relations  of  one  to   another,  and  places  what  is 
taken  into  the  mind  at  different  times  in  relation 
to   the    same    subjects   under   their   appropriate 
heads,  so  that  the  various  stores  are  not  hetero- 
geneously  piled  up,  but  laid  away  in  order,  and 
may  be  referred  to  with  ease  when  wanted.     If  a 
person's  daily  employments  are  such  as  demand 


THOUGHT.  59 

a  constant  exercise  of  the  thoughts,  all  the  leisure 
should  not  be  devoted  to  reading,  but  a  part  re- 
served for  reflecting  upon  and  arranging  in  the 
mind  what  is  read.  The  manner  of  reading  is 
much  more  important  than  the  quantity.  To 
hurry  through  many  books,  retaining  only  a  con- 
fused knowledge  of  their  contents,  is  but  a  poor 
exercise  of  the  brain  ;  it  is  far  better  to  read  with 
care  a  few  well-selected  volumes. 

There  is  a  strong  tendency  towards  superficial 
culture  at  the  present  day,  which  is  the  natural 
result  of  the  immense  amount  of  books  and  peri- 
odicals constantly  pouring  from  the  press,  and 
tempting  readers  to  dip  a  little  into  almost 
everything,  and  to  study  nothing.  Much  is  said 
of  the  pernicious  consequences  arising  from  lec- 
tures and  periodicals,  as  though  a  short  account 
of  anything  must  of  necessity  be  a  superficial 
one;  but  this  is  far  from  the  truth.  A  quarto 
volume  on  one  theme  may  be  entirely  super- 
ficial, while  a  lecture  or  review-article  on  the 
same  theme  may  contain  the  whole  gist  of  the 
matter.  Prolixity  is  oftener  superficial  than  brev- 
ity. Books  are  superficial  if  they  relate  only  to 
the  outside  of  a  subject,  —  if  they  describe  only 
its  husk ;  and  the  reverse,  if  they  give  its  kernel. 
Many  an  able  review-article  contains  the  kernel 
of  a  whole  volume,  and  if  the  pleased  reader  of 
the  review  goes  to  the  book  itself,  expecting  to 
enjoy  that  in  a  degree  proportionate  to  its  size, 


60         THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

he  will  often  find  he  has  got  nothing  but  a  dry 
husk  for  his  pains.  / 

Those  who  have  little  time  for  books,  but  who 
wish  really  to  know  many  things,  can  accomplish 
a  great  deal  by  being  careful  to  hunt  for  meats 
rather  than  for  shells  and  husks ;  for  though  the 
outsides  of  things  make  a  great  show,  and  can 
be  displayed  by  the  pedant  to  great  advantage 
before  those  who  are  superficial  as  himself,  they 
contain  no  healthful  nutriment  fpr  the  mind. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  study  of  botany.  Let  a 
person  master  the  whole  vocabulary  of  the  sci- 
ence, and  know  the  arrangement  of  its  classifica- 
tions so  well  that  he  can  turn  at  once  to  the  de- 
scription of  any  plant  he  may  find.  Let  him  do 
this  until,  like  King  Solomon,  he  knows  every 
plant  by  name,  from  the  "  hyssop  on  the  wall  to 
the  cedar  of  Lebanon  " ;  but  if  at  the  same  time  he 
knows  nothing  more  about  them  than  the  name, 
his  knowledge  of  botany  is  entirely  superficial, 
though  he  may  have  spent  a  vast  deal  of  time  and 
labor  in  its  acquisition.  Let  another  person 
have  studied  the  physiology  of  plants  till  he  has 
learned  all  that  has  yet  been  discovered  of  their 
curious  and  beautiful  structure,  —  till  he  appre- 
ciates as  far  as  mortals  may  the  Divine  wisdom, 
that  even  in  the  formation  of  a  blade  of  grass 
transcends  not  only  all  that  man  with  all  his 
pride  of  science  and  mechanical  skill  can  per- 
form, but  goes  far  —  we  cannot  even  guess  how 


THOUGHT.  61 

far — beyond  all  that  human  intellect  can  com- 
prehend ;  and  still  more  if  the  mind  of  this  stu- 
dent be  lifted  upward  in  adoration  as  he  learns,  he 
is  the  true  botanist,  though  he  may  have  studied 
far  less,  if  we  count  by  time,  than  his  superficial 
brother.  . 

So  it  is  with  all  the  sciences.  The  kernel  is 
what  nourishes  the  mind,  —  the  knowledge  of 
what  God  has  created,  and  not  the  mere  power 
of  repeating  the  classifications  and  vocabularies 
that  man  has  invented  to  describe  these  crea- 
tions :  not  that  these  also  have  not  an  eminent 
use ;  but  still  it  is  one  that  should  always  be 
esteemed  secondary  in  all  our  studies. 

So,  too,  it  is  with  history.  One  may  have  all 
the  important  dates,  names,  and  facts  of  the 
world's  history  at  the  tongue's  end,  and  yet  be 
none  the  wiser ;  for  such  knowledge  is  but  the 
surface  of  history.  To  know  history  well,  is  to 
have  so  arranged  its  facts  in  the  mind  that  it 
may  be  contemplated  as  a  continuous  exhibition 
of  God's  providence.  It  is  to  study  the  succes- 
sion ojf  events,  not  as  separate  units,  but  as  links 
of  one  vast  chain,  on  every  one  of  which  is  in- 
scribed a  phrase  discoursing  of  the  progress  of 
the  human  race,  and  showing  the  growth  of  man 
in  the  complex,  from  infancy  to  adolescence. 
Further  than  that,  we  can  hardly  venture  to  be- 
lieve the  race  has  yet  advanced.  Thus  studied, 
history  is  the  noblest  of  all  sciences,   since  it 


(BS  '     THE    ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTEB. 

treats  of  the  highest  of  God's  creations;  but 
studied  as  a  mere  congeries  of  facts,  all  sciences 
are  alike  worthless ;  and  from  the  mousings  of  the 
mere  antiquarian  to  the  dredgings  of  the  student 
of  the  shelly  coverings  of  the  Mollusca,  all  end  in 
naught. 

When  a  person's  employment  is  one  that  does 
not  require  a  constant  exercise  of  the  thoughts, 
there  is  the  greater  need  of  a  constant  supply  of 
nutritious  food  for  the  mind,  that  it  may  be 
growing  all  the  time  by  reflection,  and  thus  be 
saved  from  falling  into  a  morbid  state,  such  as 
too  often  results  from  long  confinement  to  an 
occupation  demanding  little  exertion  of  its  pow- 
ers. The  farmer  at  his  plough,  the  mechanic  at 
his  bench,  the  seamstress  at  her  needle,  and  a 
host  of  others,  too  often  suffer  the  thoughts  to 
wander  into  realms  of  morbid  egotism  and  dis- 
content, when,  if  they  would  turn  them  upon 
moral  or  intellectual  themes,  they  might  be  grow- 
ing wiser  and  better  every  day. 

It  may  be  objected,  that  those  who  are  obliged 
to  work  hard  through  the  whole  week  cannot,  on 
the  Sabbath,  take  enough  intellectual  food  to  last 
them  for  Thought  during  the  week.  Every  per- 
son can,  if  he  will,  find  time  for  a  chapter  in  the 
Bible  every  day,  and  therein  lies  wisdom,  that  all 
humanity  combined  can  never  exhaust,  and  which 
ever  opens  richer  stores  the  more  it  is  wrought 
upon.     Then   the   human  race   are   everywhere 


THOUGHT.  63 

around  us,  and  every  individual  is  a  volume  to  be 
read.     We  are  vexed,  and  perhaps  tormented,  by 
the  vices  or  foibles  of  those  with  whom  we  are 
thrown  in  contact.     Let  us  not  stop  in  vexation, 
but  study  our  own  hearts,  and  see  if  there  is  not 
some  kindred  vice  or  foible  in  ourselves  that  per- 
haps troubles  our  friends  quite  as  much  as  this 
disturbs  us  ;  for  it  is  often  the  case  that  our  own 
vices,  when  we  meet  them  in  others,  are  precise- 
ly those   which   irritate  us   most ;   and  we   are 
almost  always  more  irritable  through  our  vices 
than  through  our  virtues.     Again,  we  find  per- 
sons exciting  our  admiration  through  their  vir- 
tues.   Let  us  not  stop  in  cold  admiration,  but  re- 
flect how  we  may  engraft  similar  virtues  upon 
our  own  souls.     It  is  deep  and  earnest  Thought 
alone  that  can  teach  us  to  know  ourselves,  and 
without  this  knowledge  we  are  in  constant  dan- 
ger of  cherishing  repulsive   vices   such    as   we 
should  abhor  in  others,  and  of  neglecting  the  cul- 
ture of  virtues  such  as  in  others  we  esteem  in- 
dispensable.    Society  at  large,  too,  is  around  us, 
and  domestic  circles,  with  all  their  complex  rela- 
tions, their  jarring^ discords,  or  their  heavenly  har- 
monies; and  all  are  full  of  food  for  Thought. 
The  true  and  the  false,  the  right  and  the  wrong, 
are  everywhere,  and  the  highest  wisdom  is  to  be 
able  to  distinguish  one  from  the  other.     He  who 
has  spent  his  whole  life  in  intellectual  pursuits 
may,  in  this  greatest  wisdom,  —  the  only  wisdom 


64  THE   ELEMENTS    OF   CHAEACTER. 

that  belongs  to  eternity  equally  with  time, — 
be  the  veriest  fool ;  while  he  who  has  patiently 
and  prayerfully  and  obediently  studied  no  book 
but  the  Bible  may  be  so  taught  of  God  that  he 
shall  possess  all  that  man  while  on  earth  can 
possess  of  this  highest  wisdom.  » 

It  is  beautifully  said  by  William  von  Hum- 
boldt, that  "exactly  those  joyful  truths  which 
are  the  most  needful  to  man  —  the  holiest  and 
the  greatest  —  lie  open  to  the  simplest,  plainest 
mind  ;  nay,  are  not  unfrequently  better,  and  even 
more  entirely,  grasped  by  such  a  one,  than  by 
him  whose  greater  knowledge  more  dissipates 
his  thoughts.  These  truths,  too,  have  this  pecu- 
liarity, that,  although  they  want  no  profound  re- 
search to  attain  to  them,  but  rather  make  their 
own  way  in  the  mind,  there  is  always  something 
new  to  be  found  in  them,  because  they  are  in 
themselves  inexhaustible  and  endless." 

While  the  Bible  is  left  to  us,  while  human  be- 
ings surround  us,  while  our  own  souls  are  to  be 
cleansed,  renewed,  and  saved,  we  miserably  de- 
ceive ourselves  if  we  think  we  lack  material  for 
Thought.  We  are  thinking  perpetually,  whether 
we  will  or  no,  and  let  us  look  to  it  that  we  think 
to  some  good  purpose.  How  much  Thought  is 
worse  than  wasted  in  planning  how  wealth, 
which  too  often  profiteth  not,  may  be  acquired, 
while  the  true  riches  that  the  Lord  is  ever  offer- 
ing for  our  acceptance  are  forgotten !     How  often 


THOUGHT.  65 

are  the  Thoughts  poisoned  with  envying  the 
lands  of  one's  neighbor,  while  one's  own  soul  is 
lying  an  uncultivated  waste.  How  often  is  the 
mind  cankered  with  vexation  at  the  intellectual 
achievements  of  an  old  schoolmate,  whom  in 
school  days  we  never  deemed  wiser  than  our- 
selves, w^hen  all  that  has  wrought  the  present  dif- 
ference between  us  is,  that  he  thought  and  strove 
while  we  dreamed  and  loitered. 

In  its  purely  religious  action.  Thought  is  the 
fountain  of  that  Faith  which  forms  the  base  of 
St.  Paul's  trinity  of  the  primal  elements  of  Char- 
acter, —  the  foundation  upon  which  hope  and 
charity  are  to  be  elevated.  How  important,  then, 
is  it  that  this  foundation  should  be  wisely  laid  ! 
Many  persons  think  much  in  relation  to  religious 
subjects  from  the  love  of  metaphysical  reason- 
ing ;  while  their  lives  are  not  influenced  by  the 
doctrines  they  profess.  This  is  an  abuse  of 
Thought,  one  of  its  fruits  is  bigotry.  The  more 
strongly  a  man  confirms  himself  in  any  doctrine 
that  he  does  not  apply  to  life,  the  more  elevated 
he  becomes  in  his  own  estimation,  —  the  more 
puffed  up  with  spiritual  pride,  —  the  more  full  of 
contempt  and  hatred  towards  those  who  disagree 
with  him.  With  such  persons,  purity  of  life  is  as 
nothing  compared  with  faith  in  a  certain  set  of 
dogmas.  There  are  some  who  think  much  of 
the  vices  of  life,  but  always  in  relation  to  their 
neighbors,  and  thereby  engender  that  form  of 
5 


66  THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER.  . 

bigotry  called  misanthropy.  Both  these  classes, 
misuse  the  faculty  of  Thought,  making  it  sub- 
serve the  purposes  of  contempt  and  hatred  and 
debasing  narrow-mindedness,  instead  of  minis- 
tering to  Christian  love,  that  hopeth  all  things  of 
its  brother,  and  judges  as  it  would  be  judged. 

The  more  we  study  human  nature  out  of  our- 
selves, and  in  the  light  of  the  Understanding,  the 
less  we  love  it ;  but  the  reverse  takes  place  when 
we  study  our  own  hearts  at  the  same  time  that 
we  study  f!he  characters  of  our  fellow-beings,  and 
both  in  the  light  of  Christian  truth.  We  cannot 
hate  our  fellow-beings  while  we  perceive  that  we 
are  all  of  one  family,  —  while  we  feel  our  own 
weakness  and  sinfulness ;  and  we  cannot  despair 
of  human  nature  while  we  believe  that  Infinite 
Wisdom  has  become  its  Redeemer  and  Saviour. 

If  Thought  be  strongly  turned  towards  religious 
subjects,  the  mind  must  necessarily  form  to  itself 
many  doctrines  which  will  be  its  true  creed, 
whatever  external  form  of  Church  creed  it  may 
avow,  or  even  if  it  disavow  all  creeds.  At  the 
present  day,  it  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  creeds 
spoken  of  with  contempt,  as  the  effete  remains  of 
a  past  age ;  and  the  remark  is  often  made,  that  it 
is  of  no  consequence  what  a  man  believes  if  he 
do  but  lead  a  good  life.  The  religious  opinions 
we  hold  constitute  the  morality  of  our  internal 
life  ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  inter- 
nal morality  can  be  of  no  consequence,  while  ex- 


THOUGHT.  67 

ternal  morality  is  of  so  much.  It  would  seem 
that  external  morality  is  but  a  mask,  unless  it 
truly  represent  the  internal  morality.  Still  it  is 
not  surprising  that  many  superficial  observers 
should  be  found  ready  to  express  their  aversion 
to  creeds,  when  we  consider  the  abuses  into 
which  Churches  and  Governments  have  rushed 
in  their  efforts  to  establish  and  maintain  their 
favorite  dogmas ;  or  when  we  observe  how  the 
bigoted  supporters  of  creeds  become  blinded  to 
every  other  consideration,  and  learn  to  look  upon 
life  as  of  little  importance  when  compared  with 
doctrine.  It  was  probably  in  contemplation  of 
such  bigotry  that  the  Apostle  exclaims,  "  Show 
me  thy  faith  without  works,  and  I  will  show  thee 
my  faith  by  my  works."  This  saying  is  often 
quoted  in  defence  of  the  idea  that  faith  is  of  no 
consequence  compared  with  works ;  but  this  is 
no  logical  deduction  from  the  text.  "  I  will  show 
thee  my  faith  by  my  works  "  expresses  no  disre- 
gard or  undervaluing  of  faith,  but  asserts  the 
great  truth  that  faith  becomes  a  living  reality 
only  when  it  forms  itself  into  works.  The  qual- 
ity of  works  depends,  not  on  the  works  them- 
selves, but  upon  the  faith  that  inspires  them. 
For  instance,  three  men  of  equal  wealth  may 
each  give  the  same  sum  of  money  to  some  char- 
ity. Externally  the  act  is  the  same  in  each  indi- 
vidual, yet  the  common  sense  of  the  very  same 
persons  who  a  few  moments  before  may  have 


68  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

asserted  that  faith  is  nothing,  and  works  every- 
thing, does  not  hesitate  to  estimate  it  in  a  totally 
different  manner.  One  of  the  donors  has  made 
up  his  mind  that  ease  is  the  only  good.  He  has 
taught  himself  to  believe  that  it  is  wise  to  avoid 
all  trouble,  and  to  give  rather  than  make  the 
effort  of  resisting  importunity ;  and  he  gives  be- 
cause he  carries  this  belief  into  effect.  Another 
is  an  ambitious  man,  who  believes  that  power 
and  the  good  opinion  of  society  are  the  best 
among  good  things  ;  and  he  gives  to  obtain  the 
praise  of  men  and  the  influence  in  society  which 
follows  praise.  The  third  believes  that  the  first 
good  of  life  is  making  others  happy,  and  with 
systematic  benevolence  examines  every  claim 
upon  his  bounty,  and,  if  he  finds  it  worthy,  never 
dismisses  it  unsatisfied.  It  was  the  faith  within 
the  act  that  gave  this  distinctive  quality  to  the 
three  donations.  The  first  put  his  faith  in  ease, 
the  second  in  the  opinion  of  the  world,  and  the 
third  in  doing  good  to  the  neighbor;  and  the 
common  sense  of  the  community  judges  the  ac- 
tions accordingly.  All  the  actions  of  life  range 
themselves  under  one  or  other  of  the  three  heads 
represented  by  these  gifts ;  namely,  the  love  of  self, 
or  ease ;  the  love  of  the  world,  or  ambition ;  and 
the  love  of  the  neighbor,  or  true  charity.  Every 
man  is  probably  governed  in  turn  by  each  of 
these  loves ;  but  in  every  man  one  of  them  takes 
the  lead  and  dominates  over  the  other  two ;  and 


THOXTGHT.  69 

jnst  in  proportion  as  he  gives  himself  up  to  the 
dominion  of  one  of  these  loves  and  rejects  the 
sway  of  the  others  he  leads  a  consistent  life. 
Society  may  assert  that  life  is  everything,  and 
faith  nothing,  when  it  talks  abstractly;  but  its 
common  sense  ever  shows  more  wisdom  by 
transferring  the  quality  of  the  motive  to  the  act, 
as  often  as  it  finds  any  clew  to  the  knowledge  of 
motive.  Of  course,  society  makes  many  blunders 
in  these  judgments,  because  it  reads  the  heart  of 
man  very  imperfectly ;  but  the  nature  of  man 
leads  him  constantly  to  attempt  penetrating  the 
heart  before  forming  his  opinion  of  an  action. 

There  is  no  need  of  restricting  the  word  creed  to 
the  forms  of  faith  adopted  by  particular  churches. 
Whatever  a  man  believes  is  his  creed,  and  every 
man  has  a  creed,  however  much  he  may  be  op- 
posed to  forms  of  faith ;  and  this  creed  is  the  rule 
of  his  life,  however  strongly  he  may  assert,  and 
however  implicitly  believe,  that  faith  is  of  ,no  im- 
portance. Take,  for  instance,  a  man  who  devotes 
his  whole  energies  to  the  pursuit  of  riches  from  a 
conviction  that  they  are  the  greatest  good  this 
world  affords.  If  he  have  large  caution,  he  will 
take  care  not  to  break  the  laws  of  the  land  ;  but 
everything  short  of  that  he  will  do  to  attain  his 
loved  object  Perhaps  he  has  large  love  of  appro- 
bation ;  he  will  then  be  a  little  more  cautious, 
and  will  do  nothing  tlfat  can  injure  his  reputation 
as  a  gentleman ;  at  least  unless  he  believes  that 


70  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

what  he  does  will  not  be  known  in  society.  Per- 
haps, however,  he  has  neither  of  these  restraining 
traits,  and  is  of  a  violent  disposition ;  he  will 
then  be  ready  to  rob  or  murder,  if  such  means 
seem  to  promise  to  give  him  his  desires.  Shall 
we  say  this  man  has  no  creed,  when  his  faith  in 
the  value  of  riches  impels  him  to  devote  body 
and  soul  to  the  acquisition  of  gain  ?  Does  not 
his  creed  run  thus:  "  I  believe  in  gold  as  the  one 
great  good,  and  for  this  will  I  sacrifice  all  else 
that  I  possess."  And  does  not  his  life  and  death 
devotion  to  this  creed  put  to  shame  the  feeble 
efforts  of  many  of  us  who  believe  that  we  devote 
ourselves  to  more  worthy  ends  ? 

So  it  is  with  those  who  employ  themselves  ex- 
clusively in  the  attainment  of  intellectual  wealth. 
Faith  that  this  is  the  one  great  good  incites  them 
to  unwearied  labor,  —  causes  them  to  forget  food, 
sleep,  friends,  everything,  in  order  that  they  mjiy 
acquire  abundant  stores  of  learning ;  and  all  be- 
cause they  have  taken  as  their  creed,  "  I  believe 
that  learning  is  better  than  all  beside,  and  for  this 
will  I  labor  day  and  night." 

So  it  is  with  the  ambitious  man.  Who  labors 
more  devotedly  than  he  ;  ever  keeping  his  creed 
in  mind,  "  I  believe  that  power  and  reputation 
are  above  all  other  possessions,  and  to  gain  them 
I  will  sacrifice  time,  labor,  truth,  and  justice." 

So  it  is  with  every  man  and  every  woman  the 
world  over.    The  slothful  even  —  those  who  seem 


THOUGHT.  71 

impelled  to  nothing  —  refrain  from  effort  because 
they  put  their  faith  in  idleness  as  the  one  thing 
above  all  others  desirable. 

Mankind  are  possessed  of  Understanding  no 
less  than  Affection  ;  and  by  this,  their  inherent 
nature,  they  are  compelled  to  believe  no  less  than 
to  love.  It  is  vain  to  talk  of  cultivating  the 
Affections  that  charity  may  be  perfected  in  hu- 
manity, and  at  the  same  time  omit  all  care  of 
the  faith.  The  mind  will  and  must  believe  so 
long  as  it  continues  to  think ;  and  it  is  as  unsafe 
to  leave  it  without  cultivation  as  to  abandon  the 
heart  to  the  instruction  of  chance.  The  question 
is  not,  shall  we  or  shall  we  not  adopt  a  creed ; 
for  however  strongly  we  may  resist,  we  cannot  re- 
frain from  holding  one ;  but,  what  creed  shall  we 
adopt  ?  Accordingly  as  \ve  answer  this  question 
so  will  the  measure  of  our  wisdom  be  both  here 
and  hereafter. 

The  human  race  may,  in  this  respect,  be  di- 
vided into  three  classes,  —  those  who  adopt  good 
creeds,  those  who  adopt  evil  creeds,  and  those 
who,  too  indolent  or  too  heedless  distinctly  to 
adopt  any  rule  of  life,  spend  their  days  in  vascil- 
lating  between  the  two ;  but  the  latter,  by  rea- 
son of  the  greater  tendency  to  sin  than  to  holi- 
ness inherent  with  the  human  race,  tend,  year 
by  year,  more  and  more  decidedly  towards  the 
evil. 

It  is  impossible  that  any  person  should  lead  a 


72         THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

I 

consistent  life  unless  a  creed  be  adopted  and 
steadfastly  acted  upon ;  because  unless  one  holds 
distinct  opinions  in  relation  to  life  and  duty,  one 
is  drawn  hither  and  thither  by  impulse  and  pas- 
sion, as  the  mind's  mood  varies  from  time  to 
time,  so  that  the  words  and  actions  of  to-day  will 
be  often  in  direct  opposition  to  those  which  were 
yesterday,  or  which  will  be  to-morrow. 

In  order  to  lead  a  life  worthy  an  immortal  be- 
ing, a  child  of  God,  the  first  step  to  be  taken  is  • 
to  come  to  a  distinct  understanding  of  what  one 
wishes  to  be  and  to  do.  The  biographies  of 
those  who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  the 
world,  either  for  goodness  or  for  greatness,  fre- 
quently show  that  in  early  life  they  adopted  cer- 
tain modes  and  directions  of  effort,  and  have  at- 
tained to  eminence  by  steadily  persevering  in  one 
direction.  Among  the  papers  of  these  persons, 
written  rules  have  been  found  which  they  have 
laid  down  for  themselves  as  creeds,  and  in  har- 
mony with  which  they  have  built  up  their  Char- 
acters ;  and  herein  lies  the  secret  of  their  success. 

The  living  in  accordance  with  such  creeds  will 
not  insure  greatness  or  distinguished  reputation, 
because  after  all  our  efforts,  no  one  can  be  sure 
of  worldly  and  external  success.  Events  which 
it  3;vas  impossible  to  provide  for,  or  even  to  fore- 
see, will  often  confound  the  best  preparations  of 
humanity,  because  the  providence  of  God  over- 
rules all  the  events  of  life,  according  to  the  eter- 


THOUGHT.  78 

nal  dictates  of  infinite  wisdom  and  mercy,  —  a 
wisdom  that  knows  when  it  is  best  for  us  to  suc- 
ceed and  when  to  fail  in  our  wishes  and  en- 
deavors, and  a  mercy  which,  looking  to  our  eter- 
nal welfare,  sometimes  makes  us  sorrowful  here 
that  we  may  the  more  rejoice  hereafter. 

Perhaps  the  cause  which  most  frequently  pre- 
vents the  adoption  of  a  creed  is  the  failing  to  rec- 
ognize the  seriousness  of  life  in  this  world. 
.Few  persons  can  be  found  so  senseless  or  so 
reckless  as  not  to  recognize  the  seriousness  of 
death.  Probably  few  could  look  upon  the  solemn 
stillness  of  the  lifeless  human  countenance  with- 
out a  feeling  of  awe  at  the  thought  that  ere  long 
their  day  too  must  come  when  the  beating  of  the 
busy  heart  shall  cease,  and  the  now  quick  blood 
shall  stay  its  course,  —  when  the  hand  shall  lose 
its  cunning  and  the  brain  its  power.  Such  im- 
pressions are  too  often  transitory,  passing  away 
with  the  object  that  awoke  them,  because  per- 
sons do  not  stop  to  consider  why  it  is  that  solem- 
nity and  awe  pervade  the  presence  of  death.  If 
they  did,  they  would  feel  that  this  solemnity  was 
reflected  upon  life,  and  life  would  become  to 
them  serious  as  death.  Both  would  be  serious, 
but  neither  sorrowful ;  for  then  death  would  lose 
its  terror  and  would  be  looked  forward  to  simply 
as  the  beginning  of  eternal  life.  The  solemnity 
of  life  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  a  preparation  for 
eternity ;  and  the  solemnity  of  death  in  the  fact 


74  THE    ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

that  the  preparation  is  over  and  the  eternity  be- 
gun. In  all  this  there  is  no  cause  of  sadness,  but 
infinite  cause  for  thoughtful  seriousness. 

When  the  true  solemnity  of  life  is  compre- 
hended, and  the  Character  is  moulded  in  accord- 
ance with  the  ideas  that  in  consequence  possess 
the  soul,  a  growth  of  the  whole  nature  is  in- 
duced that  prevents  all  the  repulsive  character- 
istics of  old  age.  Too  often  old  age  is  utterly 
disagreeable  through  the  indulgence  of  ill-temper, 
fretfulness,  and  selfish  indifference  to  the  wishes 
and  pleasures  of  the  young.  Such  traits  of  Char- 
acter could  never  possess  us  if  the  true  import 
of  life  were  comprehended,  and  the  Character 
formed  in  harmony  with  its  teachings.  A  Char- 
acter that  grows  in  grace  daily  must  become 
more  and  more  beautiful  and  attractive  with  ad- 
vancing years.  Each  day,  as  it  finds  it  better 
,  fitted  for  heaven,  must  find  it  less  sullied  by  the 
imperfections  of  earth. 

We  sometimes  see  persons  discontented  and 
peevish  because  they  are  old,  —  because  they 
feel  that  they  must  soon  pass  away  from  the 
earth.  Could  this  be,  if  they  believed  that  life 
on  earth  was  only  a  preparation  for  an  eternal 
life  in  heaven  ?  Could  they  shrink  with  aver- 
sion at  the  thought  of  death  if  they  believed 
it  to  be  the  portal  of  heaven  ?  The  follies  and 
the  vices,  the  weariness  and  the  sadness,  the  dis- 
content and  the  rnoroseness  of  life,   all   spring 


THOUGHT.  75 

from  the  want  of  a  just  conception  of  its  rela- 
tions and  its  value,  such  as  can  be  attained  only 
by  calm,  deliberate  reflection,  out  of  which  wise 
opinions  evolve,  and  are  gradually  shaped  into  a 
creed  such  as  forms  the  bone  and  muscle  of  a 
wise  and  noble  Character. 

Evil  is  ever  the  result  of  the  abuse  of  some 
good ;  for  nothing  was  created  evil.  The  nar- 
row creeds  of  various  churches,  by  which  men's 
souls  have  been  unworthily  bound,  have  sprung 
from  the  falsification  of  the  fact  that  man  re- 
quires faith  in  truth  that  he  may  be  able  to 
lead  a  life  of  goodness.  Had  the  makers  of 
these  creeds  gone  directly  to  the  Bible  for  their 
materials,  instead  of  looking  into  their  own 
minds,  —  had  they  been  content  to  accept  the 
Ten  Commandments  given  to  the  Jewish,  or  the 
Two  given  to  the  Christian  Church,  much  mis- 
chief might  have  been  avoided ;  but,  not  satis- 
fied with  the  simplicity  and  directness  of  God's 
word,  they  built  up  creeds  from  their  own  minds, 
not  as  guides  to  a  holy  life,  but  as  chains  to 
compel  the  minds  of  other  men  into  harmony 
with  their  own.  Just  in  proportion  to  the  energy 
with  which  they  strove  to  impress  themselves 
upon  the  people  through  these  creeds  was  their 
indifference  to  that  life  of  holiness  which  should 
be  the  end  of  all  creeds. 

The  centuries  that  have  passed  since  the  Chris- 
tian dispensation  was  proclaimed  have  many  of 


76  THE    ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

them  been  darkened  even  to  blackness  by  insane 
endeavors  to  write  creeds  of  man's  devising,  in 
letters  of  fire  and  blood,  upon  the  nations.  The 
day  for  such  deeds  has  passed  away  from  most 
lands  calling  themselves  Christian;  and  now 
men  are  inclining  to  rush  into  the  opposite  ex- 
treme, and  to  mistake  licentiousness  in  belief  for 
liberty  of  conscience.  Such  an  extreme  natur- 
ally follows  the  opposite  one  that  preceded  it ; 
but  out  of  the  anarchy  of  faith  that  now  pre- 
vails the  providence  of  God  will  surely,  in  his 
own  good  time,  lift  up  his  children  into  the  liberty 
wherewith  those  who  obey  him  are  made  free. 
Then  will  it  be  understood  that  the  truth  is  not  a 
chain  to  bind  the  soul,  but  a  shining  light  illumi- 
nating all  the  dark  places  of  the  earth,  and  pour- 
ing into  every  soul  that  worthily  receives  it  a 
living  warmth,  that  shall  clothe  the  whole  being 
with  the  beautiful  garments  of  heavenly  charity. 
Then  shall  it  be  seen  that  all  true  creeds  are  con- 
tained within  the  two  commandments  of  the  Son 
of  God.  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  with  all  thy 
heart  and  soul  and  mind  and  strength  ;  and  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself. 


IMAGINATION. 


Ima^  nation  rules  the  world.  —  Napoleon. 

Imagination  la  the  mediatrix,  the  nurse,  the  mover  of  all  the  sereral  parts 
of  our  spiritual  organism.  Without  her,  all  our  ideas  stagnate,  all  our  con- 
ceptions wither,  all  our  perceptions  become  rough  and  sensual.  —  Feucht- 

ESSLEBEN. 


Imagination  is  that  power  of  the  mind  by 
which  it  forms  pictures  or  images  within  itself. 
Thought  is  but  a  shapeless,  lifeless  entity,  until 
Imagination  moulds  it  into  form.  We  cannot 
bring  what  we  know  out  into  life  until  Imagina- 
tion presents  it  to  the  Affections  as  a  possible 
reality.  Thought  is  an  uncreative  power,  and 
gives  form  to  nothing.  Imagination  is  a  more 
positive  power,  and  can  impart  form  to  every- 
thing in  thought.  Thought  acts  subjectively, 
while  Imagination  is  more  objective  in  its  opera- 
tions. Thought  is,  by  itself,  a  pure  abstraction  : 
passing  into  the  Imagination  it  becomes  a  pos- 
sible reality,  and  in  the  Affections  a  vital  reality. 
The  Affections  cannot  love  or  hate  anything 
while  it  is  a  mere   Thought;  but  when  it  be- 


78  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

comes  an  image,  it  is  at  once  an  object  either  of 
attraction  or  repulsion.  Thought,  therefore,  can 
be  lifted  up  into  the  Affections,  and  then  be  made 
manifest  in  life,  only  through  the  medium  of  the 
Imagination. 

It  has  been  remarked  by  a  celebrated  writer, 
that  all  great  discoverers,  inventors,  and  mathema- 
ticians have  been  largely  endowed  with  Imagina- 
tion. It  might  with  equal  truth  have  been  added, 
that  all  successful  persons  in  every  department 
of  life  are  endowed  with  an  Imagination  com- 
mensurate in  power  with  that  of  the  other  facul- 
ties. To  the  mechanic  in  his  shop,  no  less  than 
to  the  student  in  his  cell,  is  it  requisite  that  he 
should  be  able  to  form  a  distinct  image  in  his 
mind  of  whatever  he  wishes  to  perform.  So  the 
teacher,  the  preacher,  and  the  parent  labor  in 
vain  unless  there  is  clearly  imaged  in  their  minds 
the  end  to  be  attained  by  education  and  disci- 
pline. It  is  idle  to  seek  for  means  to  accomplish 
anything  until  there  is  a  distinct  image  in  the 
mind  of  the  thing  that  is  to  be  done.  If  there 
be  such  a  thing  as  an  "  airy  nothing,"  it  is  a 
thought  before  Imagination  has  given  it  a  "local 
habitation  and  a  name."  When  Shakespeare  said 
it  was  the  office  of  the  po^t  to  carry  on  this 
transformation,  he  announced  one  of  those  great 
general  facts  which  are  equally  true  of  every 
other  human  being.  It  is  in  degree,  and  not  in 
kind,  that  one  man  differs  from  another.    In  this, 


IMAGINATION.  79 

the  poet  is  but  the  type  of  what  every  human 
being  must  be,  if  he  would  be  anything  better 
than  a  dead  weight  in  society,  incapable  of  suc- 
cess in  any  department  of  life. 

Let  no  one  fold  his  hands  supinely,  and  say,  I 
have  no  Imagination  ;  and  therefore,  if  this  doc- 
trine be  true,  my  life  must  be  a  failure.  *  You 
may  possibly  have  but  one  talent  while  your 
neighbor  has  ten,  but  you  are  just  as  responsible 
for  the  cultivation  and  enlargement  of  your  en- 
dowment as  your  neighbor  for  his.  Had  the 
parable  been  reversed,  and  had  he  who  was  en- 
dowed with  five  talents  hidden  them  in  the  earth 
while  he  who  had  one  doubled  his  lord's  money, 
the  condemnation  and  the  acceptance  would  like- 
wise have  been  reversed.  Unless  a  man  be  so 
far  idiotic  that  he  is  not  an  accountable  being, 
we  blaspheme  the  goodness  of  God,  if  we  say 
there  is  nothing  he  is  capable  of  doing  well. 

The  action  of  the  Imagination  may  be  best 
illustrated  by  example.  Previous  to  the  days  of 
Columbus,  many  sea-captains  believed  that  there 
was  a  Western  Continent;  but  their  belief  was 
a  cold  faith,  existing  only  in  Thought.  When 
the  ardent  mind  of  Columbus  received  the  same 
belief,  Imagination  speedily  formed  it  into  a  re- 
ality of  such  distinctness  that  faith  changed  to 
hope,  and  then  Affection  brooded  upon  it  until 
his  whole  being  was  absorbed  by  the  determina- 
tion that  he  would  be  the  discoverer  of  this  un- 


80      '  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

known  world.  The  image  of  this  land  was  a 
pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  a  pillar  of  flame  by 
night,  leading  him  onward  in  spite  of  every  dis- 
couragement and  disappointment.  Others  might 
lose  their  courage,  or  die  of  weariness  by  the 
way  ;  but  his  was  that  deathless  enthusiasm  that 
knows  neither  despair  nor  doubt.  To  this  in- 
tense Imagination  the  world  owes  a  new  conti- 
nent, and  it  is  to  such  Imaginations  that  it  owes 
almost,  if  not  quite,  all  the  great  discoveries  and 
inventions  that  have  ever  been  made.  There  are 
those  who  love  to  believe  that  such  things  are  in 
the  main  the  result  of  accident ;  but  it  is  only  to 
the  thoughtful  and  the  imaginative  that  accident 
speaks.  To  the  dull  and  the  indifferent  it  is 
utterly  dumb. 

What  is  life  but  one  long  chain  of  accidents,  if 
by  accident  we  understand  all  that  falls  out  with- 
out our  own  intention  or  volition.  We  cannot 
control  these  accidents.  There  is  a  power  above 
circumstance  and  accident  that  controls  them, 
as  gravitation  controls  the  motions  of  material 
things.  We  can  only  turn  them  at  our  will,  and 
make  use  of  them,  as  the  machinist  turns  the 
power  of  gravitation  to  serve  his  purposes. 

Quick-witted  persons  are  those  who  have  the 
power  of  rapidly  seeing  the  relations  of  things  in 
every-day  life,  —  whose  Thoughts  grasp,  and 
whose  Imaginations  shape  with  dextrous  rapidity, 
the  little  accidents  of  the  hour,  and  turn  them  to 


IMAGINATION.  81 

advantage.  Persons  of  resource  are  those  who 
have  a  deeper  Thought,  a  more  earnest  Imagina- 
tion ;  and  who  can  therefore  lay  hold  of  great 
principles,  and  unusual  circumstances,  with  a 
power  adequate  to  meet  great  emergencies,  and 
to  make  use  of  great  opportunities.  If  we  tram- 
ple sluggishness  and  indifference  under  our  feet, 
if  we  do  with  a  will  whatever  we  undertake,  de- 
termining to  do  it  as  well  as  we  possibly  can,  we 
shall  become  quick-witted  in  small  works,  and 
full  of  resource  in  large  undertakings. 

The  Imagination  is  often  talked  of  as  if  it 
were  a  useless  part  of  our  being,  which  should  be 
put  down  and  discouraged  as  much  as  possible ; 
as  if  the  Creator  had  endowed  us  with  a  power 
we  did  not  need.  So  imaginative  persons  are 
spoken  of  with  contempt,  and  here  there  is  more 
justice ;  for,  in  common  parlance,  to  be  imagina- 
tive means  to  have  the  Imagination  developed 
out  of  all  proportion  with  the  other  powers. 
This  is,  perhaps,  quite  as  bad  as  to  have  an  in- 
sufficiency. What  we  should  desire  is  a  balance  of 
powers.  Imagination  should  not  run  away  with 
Thought  and  Affection,  but  neither  should  it  lag 
behind  them.  All  must  act  harmoniously  and 
equally  in  a  symmetrically  developed  Character. 
They  are  like  the  three  legs  of  a  tripod ;  and  if 
either  is  longer  or  shorter  than  the  others,  or 
worse  still,  if  no  two  are  alike  in  length,  the  tri- 
pod must  be  an  awkward  and  useless  piece  of 
6 


82  THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

lumber,  instead  of  the  graceful  and  useful  article 
for  which  it  was  intended. 

Whatever  is  to  be  done,  from  the  discovery  of 
a  continent  to  the  making  of  a  shoe  or  a  loaf, 
can  be  done  well  only  by  a  person  of  Imagina- 
tion. Go  to  a  shoemaker  and  tell  him  exactly 
what  you  wish  for  a  shoe,  and  it  is  your  imagi- 
nation that  gives  you  the  power  of  telling  him  so 
that  he  can  understand  your  wishes.  Every  one 
can  think,  "  I  want  a  pair  of  shoes,"  but  one 
must  have  Imagination  to  know  what  kind  of 
shoe  one  wants,  and  a  clear,  distinct  Imagination 
to  be  able  to  describe  it  intelligibly  to  another. 
Suppose  you  have  this,  and  have  told  the  shoe- 
maker what  you  desire.  Now,  whether  the  man 
sends  home  to  you  a  pair  of  misfits,  quite  differ- 
ent from  those  you  ordered,  or  a  pair  just  such  as 
you  want,  depends  in  no  small  degree  on  his 
powers  of  Imagination.  Any  man  can  think 
enough  to  fasten  materials  together  into  the  form 
of  a  shoe,  and  to  make  them  vary  in  size  accord- 
ing to  a  regular  gradation  of  numbers ;  but  this 
is  all  he  can  do  unless  he  exercises  his  Imagina- 
tion. Unless  the  image  of  a  shoe,  as  you  hold  it 
in  your  Imagination,  was  transferred  distinctly  to 
the  Imagination  of  the  other,  you  will  look  in 
vain  to  find  it  translated  into  a  material  reality. 
So  it  is  with  your  cook.  She  cannot  make  a 
nice  loaf  of  bread,  or  prepare  a  dinner  properly, 
by  merely  thinking  as  she  works.     The  idea  of  a 


IMAGINATION.  83 

light  loaf  or  of  a  well-cooked  dinner  must  be 
distinctly  in  her  mind,  or  you  will  eat  with  a  dis- 
appointed palate. 

It  is  needless  to  multiply  examples  here.  We 
have  but  to  look  around  us  and  see  them  every- 
where. 

Works  of  Imagination,  of  dourse,  come  in  for 
their  share  of  opprobium  from  those  who,  instead 
of  striving  to  regenerate  all  the  universal  char- 
acteristics of  humanity,  would  cut  off  and  cast 
from  it  all  those  traits  with  which  they  least 
sympathize.  In  spite  of  their  opposition,  the 
mountain  of  fiction  grows  higher  and  higher 
every  day,  and  the  multitude  throng  its  path- 
ways to  gather  that  food  for  the  Imagination 
that  is  rarely  given  it  in  other  compositions. 
Let  the  moralist  talk  and  write  against  this  as  he 
may,  it  will  be  of  no  use,  for  the  mass  of  human 
minds  will  never  take  an  interest  in  any  book 
that  does  not  address  itself  to  the  Imagination. 
From  the  beginning  of  the  world  until  now,  no 
teacher  and  no  writer  was  ever  popular  unless 
he  addressed  himself,  in  part  at  least,  to  the  Im- 
agination of  the  world. 

When  the  Father  of  History  read  his  nine 
books  before  the  Greeks  at  the  Olympic  Games, 
and  the  people  hung  hour  after  hour  and  day 
after  day  upon  his  words,  it  was  not  merely  be- 
cause he  glorified  their  victories  that  they  listened 
with  delight,  but  because  he  told  the  story  with 


84  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

such  vividness  that  every  hearer  beheld  the  on- 
goings of  the  tale  pictured  in  his  own  Imagina- 
tion. It  was  no  dull  recital  of  dry  facts,  the  mere 
bone  and  muscle  of  History  that  he  offered  them, 
but  the  living  story,  the  warm  blood  pulsating 
through  it  all,  and  every  nerve  instinct  with  life. 
In  our  own  day,  if*  the  historian  would  forget  the 
so-called  dignity  of  History,  which  is  but  another 
name  for  lifelessness,  and  after  having  filled  his 
mind  with  a  clear,  bright  image  of  what  he 
would  relate,  would  present  his  story  vividly  to 
the  Imagination  of  the  reader,  we  should  have 
no  more  complaints  of  the  dulness  of  History. 
Who  ever  found  Irving  or  Prescott  dull?  and  yet 
they  are  accurate  and  faithful  as  the  most  stately 
and  oracular.  The  carping  critic  may  sneer  at 
them  because  they  are  not  philosophical  and  pro- 
found; but  to  have  been  read  with  delight  by 
thousands  who  would  never  have  reached  a 
second  chapter  had  they  been  other  than  they 
are,  may  well  satisfy  their  ambition,  and  make 
them  careless  of  the  opinion  of  the  critic.  Such 
writers  belong  to  the  Republic  of  letters,  not  to 
that  literary  Oligarcliy  which  insists  that  books 
should  be  written  according  to  certain  conven- 
tional rules  which  have  been  manufactured  in 
the  closet,  instead  of  looking  at  the  wants  of  the 
human  mind,  and  then  addressing  themselves  to 
those  wants. 

The  class  of  minds  that  crave  instruction  for 


IMAGINATION.  86 

its  own  sake  must  always  be  very  small;  and  it 
is  this  class  alone  that  will  read  books  in  spite  of 
their  lack  of  imaginative  power.  Authors  have 
no  right  to  complain  that  their  wise  books  lie 
unread  by  the  multitude,  if  they  persist  in  over- 
looking the  nature  of  the  human  mind,  and  ad- 
dressing themselves  to  what  they  think  it  ought 
to  be  instead  of  what  it  really  is.  They  expatiate 
admiringly  upon  the  simplicity  and  vividness  of 
the  style  of  Herodotus,  and  upon  the  classic  taste 
of  the  Athenian  public  in  appreciating  him ;  and 
then,  forgetting  that  the  public  of  our  own  day 
are  quick  to  admire  the  same  traits,  turn  to  their 
desks  and  write  their  histories  as  unlike  as  pos- 
sible to  him  whom  they  have  been  praising. 

The  same  repulsive  want  of  Imagination  too 
often  characterizes  Theology  and  Metaphysics, 
and  prevents  mankind  from  receiving  the  instruc- 
tion from  works  on  these  topics  that  they  need. 
In  the  early  days  of  man's  history,  Religion  and 
Philosophy  addressed  themselves  to  the  Imagina- 
tion, and  then  the  people  listened  to  their  teach- 
ings ;  but  gradually  these  heaven-born  teachers 
turned  more  and  more  away  from  Imagination 
and  towards  Thought,  —  lost  themselves  in  ab- 
stractions, dried  up,  withered,  and  changed  into 
Theology  and  Metaphysics ;  and  then  the  people 
turned  wearily  away  from  their  words ;  and 
were  they  to  blame  ?  They  wanted  bread,  and 
only  stones  were  given  to  them. 


86         THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHAUACTER. 

The  multitude  would  not  have  followed  the 
Lord,  and  listened  with  .admiring  wonder  to  his 
instructions,  had  they  not  been  addressed  to  the 
Imagination.  Infinite  Wisdom  clothed  itself  in 
parables,  that  the  people  might  be  instructed,  and 
the  people  thronged  to  hear.  The  truths  of  Phi- 
losophy and  Religion  are  of  an  interest  more 
universal  to  humanity  than  the  truths  of  all 
other  science,  for  the  first  is  to  know  one's  self, 
and  the  second  to  know  one's  God ;  and  yet  the 
majority  of  teachers  cover  them  with  such  a 
body  of  technicalities  and  abstractions,  that  it  is 
vain  for  the  mass  of  mankind  to  endeavor  to 
penetrate  to  the  soul  within. 

If  the  clergy  of  the  Protestant  Church  would 
spend  more  strength  in  illustrating  the  Infinite 
Wisdom  contained  in  the  parables  of  the  Lord, 
and  less  in  amplifying  the  abstractions  of  St. 
Paul,  they  would  gather  around  them  bands  of 
listeners  far  more  numerous  and  more  devout 
than  those  that  now  attend  their  ministrations. 
It  was  one  of  the  grand  mistakes  of  that  Church, 
at  its  first  separation  from  the  Romish,  that,  in  its 
terror  of  the  worship  of  material  images,  it  passed 
into  the  opposite  extreme  of  the  worship  of  ab- 
stractions. This  is  one  reason  why  Protestantism 
has  made  no  advance  in  Europe  since  the  death  of 
the  first  Reformers,  and  why  there  is  so  little  vital 
religion  among  the  races  by  whom  it  was  adopted. 

Much   has   been   done   of   late   to  render  the 


IMAGINATION.  87 

natural  sciences  familiar  and  attractive  to  the 
popular  mind,  by  lectures  and  books  that  bring 
them  within  the  comprehension  of  all:  and  it 
is  to  be  hoped,  that,  beginning  thus  with  the  ma- 
terial parts  of  the  universe,  mankind  may  be 
gradually  led  from  matter  to  mind,  from  science 
to  religion.  The  forms  of  external  things  are 
easily  reproduced  in  the  mind  as  images,  and 
this  is  why  natural  science  addresses  itself  more 
readily  to  the  mind  than  any  other  branch  of 
learning.  When  men  learn  to  look  within,  and 
perceive  that  the  things  of  the  mind  are  as  genu- 
ine realities  as  the  objects  of  the  external  world, 
Philosophy  will  become  attractive ;  and  when  the 
preacher  warms  Theology  into  Religion  by  aban- 
doning the  technicalities  of  abstractions  for  the 
living  realities  of  piety  towards  God  and  charity 
towards  the  neighbor,  he  will  rejoice  in  a  listen- 
ing audience. 

The  amount  and  the  quality  of  that  which  we 
call  originality,  creative  power,  or  genius,  is  en- 
tirely dependent  upon  the  activity,  force,  and  in- 
tegrity of  the  Imagination.  Talent  belongs  to 
Thought,  and  works  only  with  facts  and  ideas  as 
others  have  done  before.  It  may  be  skilful, 
sensible,  and  faithful,  but  it  can  walk  only  in  the 
old,  beaten  tracks.  It  can  classify  and  arrange, 
but  it  can  never  discover  or  invent.  Talent  can 
understand  and  admire  the  mechanical  powers; 
Genius  puts  them  in  harness,  and  makes  them 


88  THE   ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

traverse  land  and  sea  to  do  his  bidding.  Talent 
loves  to  gaze  on  the  fair  forms  of  nature,  and  de- 
picts them  upon  canvas  with  skill  and  truth, 
neither  adding  to  nor  subtracting  from  its  model. 
Genius  seizes  upon  the  hints  that  nature  gives, 
and  without  being  false  to  her,  makes  use  only  of 
that  which  helps  to  make  up  the  beautiful,  the 
sublime,  or  the  terrible  ;  showing  the  power  that 
is  within  nature  rather  than  nature  herself.  Tal- 
ent sees  life  as  it  is,  and  so  describes  it,  if  it 
ventures  into  the  domain  of  literature.  Genius 
sees  life  as  it  is  capable  of  being,  and  hence 
comes  poetry  and  romance,  depicting  heroes  and 
heroines,  monsters  and  fiends,  types  rather  than 
representatives  of  the  human  race.  Talent  per- 
ceives only  the  actualities  of  things.  Genius  their 
possibilities.  Talent  is  content  with  things  as 
they  are,  while  Genius  is  ever  striving  to  bring 
out  latent  capacities  in  whatever  it  deals  with. 
If  true  to  its  higher  impulses,  Genius  is  ever 
striving  to  come  nearer  "  the  first  good,  first  per- 
fect, and  first  fair  "  ;  if  false,  it  degrades  and  de- 
:forms  everything  it  touches. 

Mankind  differ  from  each  other  in  degree,  but 
not  in  kind.  By  his  power  of  thinking,  a  man 
has  talent ;  by  his  power  of  imagining,  genius. 
Quick-wittedness  is  genius  in  its  lowest  form,  — 
genius  applied  to  material  life  in  its  daily  on- 
goings. The  power  for  resource  in  emergencies 
is  genius   in   a   higher  form..     Invention — the 


IMAGINATION.  89 

putting  together  with  an  adequate  purpose  two 
things  or  ideas  that  never  went  together  before  — 
is  genius  in  another  form. 

Admitting  that  men  differ  from  each  other,  not 
in  kind,  but  in  degree,  the  question  arises,  Are  all 
men  capable  of  an  equal  degree  of  development  ? 
This  may  best  be  answered  by  comparison.  All 
men  are  alike  in  the  general  conformation  of 
their  bodies;  all  have  the  same  number  of  phys- 
ical organs,  designed  for  the  same  purposes.  The 
relative  power  of  these  organs  is,  however,  very 
different  in  different  individuals.  One  has  a  fine 
muscular  frame,  and  delights  in  exercises  of  phys- 
ical strength,  while  effort  of  the  brain  is  a  weari- 
ness to  him.  Another  has  a  finely  developed 
brain,  and  delights  in  intellectual  labor,  while  his 
strength  of  muscle  is  hardly  sufficient  for  the  ab- 
solute needs  of  life.  One  has  the  digestion  of  an 
ostrich,  while  another  lives  only  by  painful  absti- 
nence ;  and  so  on  with  indefinite  variety.  We 
know  that  much  may  be  done  by  well-directed 
effort  to  overcome  the  weaknesses  and  imperfec- 
tions of  the  body ;  but  still  there  is  a  limit  to  this, 
and  all  men  cannot  be  strong  and  healthy  alike. 
So  it  is  with  the  powers  of  the  mind.  All  men 
have  the  same  number  of  powers,  —  this  consti- 
tutes their  humanity ;  but  the  relative  force  of 
their  development  varies  in  each  individual.  We 
know  that  a  determined  will  works  wonders  in 
overcoming  the  defects  of  the  body,  and  it  can 


90  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

do  more  in  overcoming  the  defects  of  the  mind, 
because  the  spiritual  body  of  man  is  far  more 
docile  and  flexible  to  the  will  th^n  the  natural 
body ;  but  there  must  be  limitations  here  like- 
wise :  still,  progress  is  eternal,  and  no  man  can 
tell  beforehand  of  how  much  he  is  capable. 

In  cultivating  the  powers  of  the  mind,  the  first 
step  is  to  admit  distinctly  to  one's  self  the  fact  of 
human  responsibility ;  to  feel  that  we  are  stew- 
ards to  whom  the  Lord  has  intrusted  certain  tal- 
ents, and  that  we  are  responsible  to  him  for  the 
use  we  make  of  them.  Indolence  will  perhaps 
tell  us  that  we  are  of  very  little  consequence,  and 
that  it  is  not  worth  while  for  us  to  trouble  our- 
selves about  developing  our  understandings; 
that  it  is  vanity  in  us  to  suppose  that  we  can 
be  of  much  use  in  the  world ;  that  we  have 
but  little  leisure,  and  may  as  well  amuse  our- 
selves with  books  and  society  ;  for  we  need  recrea- 
tion, wearied  as  we  are  with  the  cares  of  life. 
Let  us  answer  each  of  these  excuses  by  itself; 
and  first,  we  are  of  so  little  consequence.  If  the 
tempter  take  this  form  to  slacken  your  efforts, 
tell  him  you  are  one  of  God's  children,  and 
therefore,  by  your  birthright,  of  eternal  conse- 
quence ;  that  he  who  is  faithful  in  the  least 
things  thereby  proves  his  capacity  for  being  faith- 
ful in  much,  and  that  by  showing  your  willing- 
ness to  serve  the  Lord  in  the  small  things  of  life, 
you  are  fitting  yourself  for  serving  him  in  large 


IMAGINATION.  91 

things,  if  not  in  this  world,  yet  in  the  world  to 
come.  Moreover,  is  not  every  one  of  the  highest 
consequence  to  himself;  and  is  not  the  least  of 
human  beings  as  much  interested  to  save  his 
own  soul  as  the  greatest  ?  Then,  as  to  use  in 
this  world,  you  are  responsible  to  the  fullest  ex- 
tent of  your  abilities  for  the  influence  you  exert 
in  your  sphere  as  entirely  as  is  the  greatest  of 
human  beings  in  his.  No  one  is  so  small  that  he 
brings  no  influence  to  bear  upon  the  social  circle ; 
no  one  so  insignificant  that  he  does  not  exert  an 
influence,  even  by  the  expression  of  his  counte- 
nance, though  he  may  speak  no  word.  Where 
can  we  find  a  circle  that  is  not  shadowed,  as  by 
a  cloud,  if  one  countenance  appears  within  it 
darkened  by  suUenness,  ill-humor,  or  discontent  ? 
Where  one  that  is  not  warmed  and  cheered,  as 
by  a  sunbeam,  if  one  enters  it  whose  features 
glow  with  good-humor,  contentment,  and  satis- 
faction? Then  does  not  the  command  to  love 
our  neighbor  make  us  even  responsible  for  the 
expressions  our  faces  wear?  In  relation  to  the 
plea  for  recreation  and  amusement,  it  can  readily 
be  shown  how  these  may  be  made  subservient  to 
a  true  and  high  cultivation  of  the  understanding. 
While  few  are  slow  to  admit  our  accountabil- 
ity in  all  that  relates  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
Affections,  many  seem  to  suppose  that  in  what 
relates  to  the  Understanding  we  may,  without 
wrong,  follow  our  own  inclinations.     This  opin- 


93  THE    ELEBIENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

ion  comes  from  a  false  estimate  of  the  nature 
and  uses  of  the  Understanding.  If  considered 
as  a  mere  receptacle  for  Latin  and  Greek,  Mathe- 
matics and  Metaphysics,  Science  and  Litera- 
ture, we  may,  without  moral  turpitude  or  virtue, 
abstractly  considered,  follow  our  own  inclina- 
tions ;  but  the  Understanding  will  all  the  time  be 
growing  either  stronger  or  weaker,  wiser  or  more 
foolish,  whether  we  study  them  or  whether  we  let 
them  alone.  This  action  of  the  Understanding 
cannot  go  on  without  influencing  the  Affections. 
The  one  is  as  much  the  gift  of  God  as  the  other, 
and  each  alike  demands  a  healthful  nutriment. 
An  Understanding  whose  attributes  are  igno- 
rance and  folly  can  never  promote  a  healthful 
growth  of  the  Affections. 

It  has  been  already  said  that  the  Understand- 
ing of  a  great  majority  of  human  beings  can 
be  reached  only  through  its  imaginative  side. 
Every  one  who  is  accustomed  to  children  knows 
that  this  is  universally  true  of  them.  Tell  a 
child  an  abstract  truth,  and  it  falls  dead  upon  his 
ear ;  but  illustrate  the  same  truth  in  a  little  story, 
and  he  is  quick  to  estimate  its  justice.  This 
continues  true  of  most  persons  during  their 
whole  lives,  so  that  it  is  vain  to  attempt  touch- 
ing their  minds  in  any  other  way  than  by  pre- 
senting them  with  some  image  illustrating  the 
truth  inculcated.  Those  who  are  capable  of  re- 
ceiving an  abstract  truth  without  such  an  image 


IMAGINATION.  93 

are  frequently  so  from  the  fact  that  the  moment 
such  a  truth  is  presented  to  their  Understanding, 
their  Imagination  is  prompt  to  furnish  the  corre- 
sponding image.  Unless  this  is  done  either  by  the 
speaker  or  the  listener,  the  truth  is  apt  to  be  only 
a  useless  piece  of  lumber  stored  away  in  the 
thoughts.  The  whole  secret  of  the  fascinating 
power  of  the  novelist  lies'in  his  telling  us  of  all 
that  is  most  interesting  to  humanity,  and  pre- 
senting everything  to  the  mind  in  images. 

Most  persons  have  so  many  duties  to  perform, 
that  they  have  little  time  for  voluntary  employ- 
ment, and  then  they  want  recreation,  which,  if 
they  read,  they  say  they  can  gain  only  through 
works  of  Imagination.  There  is  nothing  to  ob- 
ject to  in  this,  if  such  works  be  well  selected  and 
read  wisely.  There  are  many  bad  ways  of  read- 
ing novels ;  but  there  are  two  to  be  especially 
avoided ;  firstly,  vitiating  the  Affections  by  read- 
ing impure  novels  ;  and  secondly,  weakening  the 
powers  of  the  Understanding  by  glancing  through 
novels  merely  for  the  sake  of  the  story.  To 
read  novels  of  doubtful  or  bad  morality  is  as 
likely  to  corrupt  the  Affections  as  to  associate 
with  low  and  wicked  companions.  There  is  an 
abundant  supply  of  pure  and  noble  compositions 
of  this  sort  on  which  the  Imagination  may  feed 
without  fear.  If  it  morbidly  craves  the  licentious 
pictures  that  come  from  the  pen  of  such  writers 
as  Ainsworth  or  George  Sand,  its  longings  should 


94         THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHAKACTER. 

be  resisted  as  steadfastly  as  those  which  incline 
us  to  the  gaming  table  or  other  scenes  of  licen- 
tious indulgence.  On  the  other  hand,  the  dan- 
ger to  the  Understanding  from  skimming  novels 
is  far  too  much  overlooked.  It  is  not  recreation, 
but  dissipation,  not  a  renewal,  but  a  destruction, 
of  the  powers  to  read  in  this  way.  If  you  would 
be  benefited  by  what*  you  read,  learn  to  read 
critically.  Look  at  the  characters,  and  see  if  they 
be  natural  and  well  drawn ;  observe  the  morality, 
and  see  if  it  be  true  or  false ;  examine  the  style, 
and  see  if  it  be  good  or  bad,  graceful  or  awk- 
ward, distinct  or  vague.  Novel-writing  is  one  of 
the  fine  arts,  and  by  looking  upon  it  as  such,  you 
may  cultivate  your  taste  and  discrimination  to  an 
extent  you  little  dream  of. 

Imagination  is  the  marriage  of  Thought  and 
Affection,  and  the  Fine  Arts  are  its  first-born 
children,  and  represent  humdnity  in  all  its  phases 
more  fully  and  truly  than  any  other  department 
of  art  or  science.  What  we  know  as  the  useful 
arts,  which  are  born  of  man's  love  for  physical 
ease  and  pleasure,  are  of  comparatively  modern 
date  ;  but  history  goes  not  back  to  the  time  when 
the  mind  of  man  first  took  delight  in  fashion- 
ing and  admiring  the  products  of  the  fine  arts. 
Many  suppose  them  God-given  and  coeval  with 
the  birth  of  man.  Music,  painting,  sculpture, 
poetry,  and  romance  are  the  five  departments  of 
the   fine   arts.     When    these    are    studied    and 


IMAGINATION.  95 

loved  merely  for  amusement,  they  are  of  little  or 
no  use :  if  they  are  made  vehicles  for  filling  the 
mind  with  impure  and  evil  images,  they  are 
shocking  abuses ;  but  if  they  subserve  pure  and 
holy  purposes,  elevating  the  soul  towards  all  that 
is  beautiful  and  good,  tjj^ey  are  true  Apostles  of 
the  Word.  Their  ministrations  are  almost  if 
not  quite  universal.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  a 
human  being  whose  soul  is  not  stirred  by  one  or 
other  of  them. 

Comparatively  few  persons  have  it  in  their 
power  to  enjoy  the  delight  and  the  refining  influ- 
ence that  are  derived  from  the  highest  exhibitions 
of  skill  in  those  departments  of  the  fine  arts  that 
address  themselves  to  the  eye  and  the  ear ;  but 
poetry  and  romance,  the  most  intellectual  and 
the  most  varied  of  them  all,  are  accessible  to 
every  one.  As  those  blessings  that  are  far  off 
and  difficult  to  be  attained  are  usually  those 
which  are  most  highly  prized,  we  often  find  per- 
sons sighing  for  the  culture  to  be  obtained  from 
music,  painting,  and  sculpture,  and  overlooking 
or  undervaluing  the  higher  culture  to  be  derived 
from  poetry  and  romance.  The  best  gifts  of 
Heaven  are  always  those  which  are  most  uni- 
versal. Let  any  one  read  the  plays  of  Shake- 
speare, the  poems  of  Milton,  and  the  novels  of 
Scott  carefully  and  critically  as  he  would  study 
a  gallery  of  pictures,  and  he  will  find  his  taste 
refined  and  elevated  as  much  as  it  could  be  by  a 


»D  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

visit  to  the  Vatican.  The  genius  of  these  au- 
thors is  to  the  full  as  high  and  noble  and  original 
as  that  of  Raphael,  Angelo,  or  Titian.  The 
means  of  culture  are  not  far-fetched  and  dear- 
bought.  They  lie  around  us  everywhere,  and  to 
make  use  of  them  is  a  luxurious  recreation  of  the 
mind.  What  mother,  wearied  and  worn  by  the 
cares  of  maternity,  what  laborer,  exhausted  with  ^ 
toil,  what  student,  faint  with  striving  for  fame, 
but  would  be  refreshed  and  renewed  for  the  war- 
fare of  life  by  forgetting  it  all  for  a  little  while  in 
the  realms  of  the  ideal  world  ? 

The  common,  vulgar  misuse  of  novel-reading 
by  the  silly,  the  empty-headed,  and  the  corrupt, 
should  not  blind  us  to  its  benefits.  There  are 
those  who  in  music,  painting,  and  sculpture 
find  only  nutriment  for  sensuality  and  impurity. 
Shall  we,  therefore,  deny  to  all,  and  banish  from 
the  world  the  refining  ministrations  of  beauty  in 
form  and  color  and  sweet  sounds  ?  As  justly 
may  we  wage  war  upon  the  wayside  flowers  be- 
cause the  children  are  now  and  then  tardy  at 
school  from  stopping  to  gather  them.  The  Crea- 
tor could  never  have  strown  beauty  broadcast 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth  if  it  had  no  use.  The 
very  abundance  of  this  nutriment  offered  to  our 
love  of  beauty  is  evidence  of  its  value  ;  the  very 
fact  that  we  can  abuse  this  love  so  fearfully  is 
proof  of  its  capacity  for  elevated  usefulness. 

Reading  good  works  of  Imagination  in   the 


IMAGINATION.  97 

thoughtful  way  that  has  been  described  will  be 
very  likely  to  rouse  an  action  in  the  mind  that 
will  make  it  crave  something  more  solid ;  and  all 
should  learn,  if  possible,  to  love  instructive  books. 
The  brain  that  is  overtasked  by  muscular  labor  — 
for  the  nervous  energy  of  the  brain  is  exhausted 
by  physical  effort  as  well  as  by  mental  —  is  the 
only  one  that  is  excusable  for  refreshing  itself 
only  with  images  from  the  ideal  world.  There 
are  Sabbaths  of  rest  to  all  sometimes,  when  op- 
portunity may  be  found  to  gain  something  of  a 
more  nutritious  quality ;  when,  through  biog- 
raphy we  may  learn  to  know  some  good  and 
great  character  that  will  ever  after  stand  in  the 
mind  an  image  of  excellence  to  cheer  us  on  our 
way,  and  make  us  feel  with  joy  that  there  is 
power  in  us  to  do  likewise ;  or  perhaps  some 
book  of  science  that  will  enlarge  our  ideas  of 
the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  Creator  of  us 
all.  It  should  ever  be  remembered,  that  those 
whose  minds  are  empty  of  images  of  goodness 
and  truth  are,  almost  of  necessity,  constantly  be- 
coming more  and  more  full  of  images  of  evil 
and  falsehood.  "^Jealousy,  envy,  discontent,  and 
/lOve  of  scandal,  are  among  the  earliest  products 
(  of  an  idle,  empty  mind.  We  are  not,  however,' 
dependent  upon  books  for  the  means  of  cultivat- 
ing the  Imagination.  There  is  a  training  of  this 
power  within  itself,  a  morality  of  Imagination, 
7 


98         THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

that  daily  life  compels  us  to  observe  if  we  would 
be  practical,  moral  beings. 

The  first  requisites  in  a  healthy,  well-developed 
Imagination  are  truth  and  distinctness.  To  those 
who  deem  Imagination  but  another  name  for  fic- 
tion and  falsehood,  it  may  seem  a  contradiction 
in  terms  to  talk  of  a  true  Imagination ;  but  it  is 
not  so.  Works  of  fiction  charm  us  always  in 
proportion  as  they  seem  true,  and  it  is  the 
morbid  Imagination  only  that  delights  in  false- 
hood. We  sometimes  see  persons  who,  without 
apparent  intention  of  falsehood,  seem  incapable 
of  speaking  the  truth.  If  they  relate  a  circum- 
stance that  has  passed  under  their  own  observa- 
tion, or  describe  anything  that  they  have  seen, 
they  add  here  and  diminish  there,  distort  this  and 
give  a  new  color  to  that,  in  such  a  manner  that 
the  hearer  receives  an  impression  of  nothing  as 
it  really  is.  If  there  seem  to  be  no. malicious  or 
evil  design  in  all  this,  such  persons  are  com- 
monly called  very  imaginative;  they  should  be 
called  persons  of  unregulated,  unprincipled  Im- 
aginations. They  do  not  bring  Imagination 
under  the  sway  of  conscience,  and  their  power 
of  appreciating  the  truth  will  grow  less  and  less 
until  Imagination  becomes  a  living  lie. 

Visionary  persons  form  another  class  of  those 
who  do  not  regulate  Imagination  by  the  laws  of 
him  who  is  truth  itself.  With  these,  Imagina- 
tion is  as  false  in  relation  to  that  which  is  to 


IMAGINATION.  99 

come,  as  with  the  last  described  in  relation  to 
that  which  has  already  been.  In  their  plans  of 
life  they  reason  from  fancy  instead  of  from  fact, 
and  their  Imaginations  are  filled  with  fantastic 
visions  of  things  impossible,  instead  of  the  clear, 
bright  images  of  that  which  may  rationally  be 
expected  to  come  to  pass.  Such  persons  are  per- 
petually wasting  their  powers  by  trying  to  do  so 
many  things  that  they  can  do  nothing  well,  or 
by  striving  to  do  some  one  thing  that  is  impos- 
sible ;  thus  rendering  themselves  comparatively 
useless  in  society,  and  often  even  mischievous. 
To  avoid  this  error,  it  is  needful  to  go  back  per- 
petually to  Thought  in  order  to  obtain  a  solid 
foundation  for  Imagination  to  build  upon.  As 
Imagination  passes  to  and  fro  between  Thought 
and  Affection,  it  must  remember  that  it  is  a  mes- 
senger from  one  to  the  other,  and  must  not  in- 
vent tales  on  the  way,  and  so  deceive  Affection 
into  acts  of  folly.  The  facts  of  the  message 
must  be  precisely  such  as  Thought  gave  them, 
while  their  costume  may  be  such  as  Imagination 
would  have  it.  Thus  the  Affections  will  be 
roi/sed  to  action  in  proportion  as  the  eloquence  of 
the  Imagination  is  more  or  less  intense.  When 
it  speaks  in  "  words  that  burn,"  if  it  speak  from 
itself,  it  will  rouse  the  Affections  to  wild  fanati- 
cism ;  but  if  it  speak  from  Thought,  it  will  waken 
enthusiasm  in  the  heart,  such  as  shall  bear  it 
steadfastly  onward  in  the  path  of  duty,  "without 
haste  and  without  rest." 


100  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTEB. 

Distinctness  of  Imagination  may  be  cultivated 
by  carefully  observing  things  we  wish  to  remem- 
ber, and  then  calling  up  thdir  forms  before  the 
mind's  eye,  and  endeavoring  to  describe  them 
just  as  they  are,  in  words,  by  writing,  or  by  draw- 
ing ;  and  then  reexamining  to  see  where  we  have 
erred,  and  correcting  our  mistakes.  If  this  be 
done  from  a  genuine  love  of  truth,  the  Imagina- 
tion will  soon  become  accurate  and  trustworthy. 
In  reading,  strive  to  bring  what  is  read  before 
the  mind's  eye,  and  so  impress  it  upon  the  mem- 
ory in  images.  This  process  quickens  the  power 
of  memory,  and  enables  it  to  retain  much  more 
than  it  otherwise  could.  If  the  writer  be  imagi- 
native, it  is  easily  done ;  but  if  not,  we  must  strive 
to  make  up  for  his  deficiencies  by  our  own 
efforts.  In  reading  history  and  travels,  constant 
reference  to  maps  and  pictures  fixes  facts  upon 
the  memory  simply  by  transferring  them  to  the 
Imagination.  Memory  is  not  a  faculty  by  itself. 
What  we  only  think  about  we  remember  feebly ; 
what  we  image  in  our  minds  we  remember  much 
more  strongly ;  what  we  love  we  never  forget 
while  we  continue  to  love  it. 

In  cultivating  the  Imagination,  we  must  be 
sure  to  allow  Thought  to  go  with  it  hand  in  hand ; 
remembering  that  the  two  together  make  up  the 
Understanding.  We  must  be  careful  to  search 
conscientiously  for  true  thoughts  before  allowing 
Imagination  to  shape  them  into  forms.     In  order 


IMAGINATION.  101 

to  find  the  truth,  we  must  love  it  for  its  own  sake, 
and  must  seek  it  with   straightforward  earnest- 
ness, because  we  believe  it  needful  to  the  build- 
ing up  of  Character.     If  we  seek  it  from  any  less 
worthy  motive,  our  sight  will  become  morbid,  we 
shall  lose  the  power  of  knowing  it  when  it  is 
found,  and  shall  be  liable  to  mistake  for  it  some 
miserable  falsehood.    If  we  allow  Imagination  too 
much  liberty,  zeal  will  run  before  knowledge ;  if 
we  allow  it  too  little,  knowledge  will  run  before 
zeal.     In  the  former  case  we  shall  be  liable  to 
fanaticism ;  in  the  latter,  to  sluggishness.    In  the 
former  case  we  shall  be  ready  to  undertake  to  do 
anything  that  attracts  us,  whether  we  know  how 
to  do  it  or  not ;  in  the  latter,  we  shall  not  be  will- 
ing to  try  to  do  what  we  might.     The  lack  of 
Affection  prevents  us  from  desiring  to  do  a  thing, 
the  lack  of  Imagination  makes  us  think  we  can- 
not do  a  thing,  the  lack  of  Thought  of  course 
makes  it  impossible  to  do  a  thing ;  for  we  cannot 
do  a  thing  till  we  know  that  it  is  to  be  done. 
/  In  our  religion,  Thought  gives  us  faith,  Im- 
/agination  gives  us  hope,  and  Affection  gives  us 
£^charity.     Religion  does  not  become  a  personal 
matter  to  us   until  it  takes  the  form  of  hope^ 
While  it  is  simply  a  thing  of  thought  it  is  cold, 
barren  faith,  and  we  care   nothing  for  it ;   but 
when  Imagination  touches  it,  faith  is  changed  to 
hope,  and  we  begin  to  perceive  that  religion  is  a 
thing  to  be  desired  in  our  own   persons.     Re 


102  THE    ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

ligious  fear,  too,  is  the  child  of  Imagination. 
Devils  believe  and  tremble,  because  they  hate 
goodness.  Angels  believe  and  hope,  because 
they  love  it. 

Every  one  has  within  his  mind  an  imaginary 
heaven,  within  and  around  which  all  cherished  im- 
ages arrange  themselves,  according  as  they  are 
more  or  less  dear.  We  should  search  our  minds, 
and  learn  what  are  the  attributes  of  our  heaven,  if 
we  would  know  whether  we  are  tending  towards 
the  true  heaven  that  is  prepared  for  those  who 
order  their  lives  aright.  "We  shall,  if  we  do  this, 
be  sure  to  find  that  there  are  certain  images  rising 
very  often  in  our  minds,  into  which  our  thoughts 
seem  to  crystallize  when  disturbed  by  no  interrup- 
tion from  without;  and  these  images  makeup 
all  that  we  believe  of  heaven ;  they  are  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  within  us.  We  may,  with  our 
lips,  acknowledge  faith  in  a  pure  heaven  wherein 
dwelleth  righteousness ;  but  unless  our  ideas  fall 
habitually  into  forms  of  purity,  there  is  no  genu- 
ine faith  in  such  a  heavenly  kingdom.  We  truly 
believe  only  in  what  we  love.  We  may  learn 
from  books  and  from  instructors  a  great  deal 
about  the  science  of  goodness,  and  may  talk  of 
such  knowledge  until  we  fancy  that  we  should 
be  happy  in  a  heaven  where  goodness  reigned  tri- 
umphant ;  and  yet  we  may  be  entirely  deceived 
in  this  fancy,  and  our  hearts  may  all  the  while 
be  fixed  on  things  so  entirely  apart  from  the  true 


IMAGINATION.  103 

heaven,  that  nothing  could  make  us  more  miser- 
able than  the  being  forced  to  dwell  within  its 
gates.  If  we  would  test  the  quality  of  our  faith, 
we  must  watch  the  images  and  pictures  that  rise 
habitually  before  our  mind's  eye  in  our  hours  of 
reverie;  for  they  faithfully  represent  the  secret 
affections  of  the  heart.  If  these  images  are 
forms  of  purity  and  goodness,  it  is  well  with  us ; 
the  kindom  of  heaven  is  truly  there  ;  but  if  they 
represent  only  forms  of  things  that  belong  to  this 
world,  if  dress  and  equipage  and  social  distinc- 
tion haunt  our  longings,  if  visions  of  pride,  vain- 
glory, and  luxury  are  ever  prompt  to  rise, — 
visions  that  belong  only  to  the  love  of  self  and  of 
the  world, —  visions  that  do  not  beckon  us  on- 
ward to  the  performance  of  duty,  but  only  entice 
us  with  the  allurements  of  sensuality  and  self- 
indulgence  ;  or  still  worse,  if  discontent,  envy,  and 
malice  darken  the  temple  of  Imagination  with 
their  scowls,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  far  from 
us  as  the  antipodes.  This  imaginary  heaven 
that  selfishness  and  worldliness  have  built  up 
within  us  is  in  truth  but  an  emanation  from  hell. 
We  may  talk  of  heaven,  and  observe  its  outward 
forms  all  our  lives  while  harboring  this  demoni- 
acal crew  within  ;  and  we  shall  grow  ever  harder 
and  colder  with  intolerance  and  bigotry  under 
their  influence;  nor  can  we  ever  have  that  joy  in 
heavenly  hope  that  belongs  to  those  whose  hearts 
cleave  to  all  that  is  pure  and  true,  and  whose 


104  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

souls   are  therefore  filled  with  the  imagery  of 
virtue. 

We  cannot  expect,  in  this  life,  to  attain  to  a 
state  of  regeneration  so  entire  that  no  images  of 
evil  shall  ever  come  to  our  souls ;  "but  we  may 
hope  to  become  so  far  advanced  that  we  shall  not 
welcome  and  entertain  them  when  they  come; 
but  shall  recognize  them  at  once  as  often  as  they 
appear,  and  drive  them  from  us.  This  much, 
however,  we  cannot  do  with  our  own  strength, 
for  that  is  weakness ;  but  if  we  strive,  looking 
ever  to  the  Lord,  whose  strength  is  freely  given 
to  all  who  devoutly  ask  his  aid,  we  shall  be 
armed  as  with  the  flaming  sword  of  cherubim, 
turning  every  way  to  guard  the  tree  of  life. 


AFFECTION. 


Love  is  the  Life  of  Man.  —  Swedenboro. 

With  the  heart  man  believelh  unto  righteousness.  —  St.  Paitl. 


The  Affections  are  the  most  interior  of  all  the 
attributes  of  man,  —  they  are  in  fact  his  spiritual 
life.  The  acquisitions  of  the  Understanding 
truly  appertain  to  man  only  when  the  Affections 
have  set  their  seal  upon  them.  "We  may  store 
our  memories  with  knowledge  and  wisdom  gath- 
ered from  every  source,  but  until  they  are  grasped 
by  the  Affections  they  do  not  belong  to  us ;  for 
till  then  they  do  not  become  pEirt  and  parcel  of 
ourselves.  So  long  as  we  merely  know  a  thing 
we  make  no  use  of  it.  The  facts  of  knowledge, 
as  they  lie  in  the  Understanding,  may  exhibit  a 
rank  growth  of  thoughts  and  images ;  but  though 
flowers  may  adorn  them,  they  will  all  perish  bar- 
renly ;  while,  if  the  warmth  of  the  Affections  is 
thrown  upon  them,  the  rich  clusters  of  fruit 
speedily  appear;  not  only  affording  present  de- 


106        THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

light,  but  promising  to  be  the  parents  of  numer- 
ous offspring  yet  to  come. 

The  Affections  cannot  be  analyzed  and  com- 
prehended with  the  same  kind  of  distinctness 
with  which  we  comprehend  Thought  and  Imagi- 
nation; because  that  which  belongs  to  the 
Understanding  can  be  expressed  or  described  in 
words,  and  in  that  form  be  passed  from  one  to 
another  ;  while  the  Affections  exist  only  in  forms 
of  emotion  that  cannot  be  distinctly  translated 
into  words.  A  glance  of  the  eye  or  a  touch  of 
the  hand  often  transfers  an  emotion  from  one 
mind  to  another  with  a  facility  and  clearness  of 
which  words  are  incapable.  There  are  no  things 
we  believe  so  completely  as  those  which  we  feel 
to  be  true,  yet  there  are  none  about  which  we 
reason  so  imperfectly. 

The  motive-power  in  man  is  Affection.  What 
he  loves  he  wills,  and  what  he  wills  he  performs. 
Our  Character  is  the  complex  of  all  that  we  love. 
We  oftei;i  think  we  love  traits  of  Character  that 
we  cannot  possess ;  but  we  deceive  ourselves. 
All  that  we  truly  love  we  strive  to  attain,  and  all 
that  we  strive  after  rightly  we  do  attain.  The 
cause  of  self-deception  on  this  point  is,  that  we 
think  we  love  a  certain  trait  of  Character  when 
we  only  love  its  reward ;  or  that  we  hate  other 
traits  when  we  only  hate  their  punishment. 

The  passionate  man  perceives  that  his  ungov- 
erned  temper  causes  him  trouble,  and  occasions 


AFFECTION.  107 

him  to  commit  acts  of  injustice,  and  to  say 
things  for  which  he  is  afterwards  ashamed ;  and 
he  exclaims,  "  I  wish  I  could  acquire  self-con- 
trol ;  but  alas !  a  hasty  temper  is  natural  to  me, 
and  I  cannot  overcome  it."  Tell  such  a  man 
that  he  is  just  what  he  lov^s  to  be,  and  he  will 
deny  it  without  hesitation ;  and  yet  the  love  of 
combating  and  of  overcoming  by  force  are  the 
darling  loves  of  his  heart;  and  when  he  fancies 
that  he  is  wishing  to  overcome  these  propensities, 
he  is  thinking  only  of  the  worldly  injury  his  temper 
may  occasion  him,  and  not  of  the  hatefulness  of 
anger  in  itself.  So  soon  as  we  begin  to  hate 
anger  for  its  own  sake  we  begin  to  put  it  away ; 
but  whil^  we  only  hate  the  bad  consequences  of 
anger  we  cleave  to  its  indulgence.  So  it  is 
with  indolence.  We  know,  perhaps,  that  we  are 
indolent,  and  w^e  perceive  that  this  vice  stands  in 
the  way  of  our  attaining  to  many  things  that 
we  desire,  and  we  believe  that  we  wish  to  be- 
come diligent,  when  we  are  steadfastly  loving  a 
life  of  indolence,  and  wishing  not  for  diligence, 
but  for  its  rewards.  What  we  suppose  to  be 
dislike  of  indolence  is  only  dislike  of  the  conse- 
quences that  indolence  brings  in  its  train.  So 
the  drunkard  sometimes  goes  to  his  grave  cheat- 
ing himself  with  the  idea  that  the  lust  of  the 
flesh  binds  and  enslaves  him ;  and  that  he  really 
loves  the  virtue  of  temperance,  while  in  truth  he 
is  loving  sensual  indulgence  with  all  his  heart. 


108  THE   ELEMENTS   OF    CHARACTEB. 

Possibly  temperance  reformers  might  be  more 
successful  in  reclaiming  such  slaves  from  their 
sin  if  they  would  talk  less  of  the  punishments 
the  drunkard  brings  upon  himself  in  the  shape  of 
poverty,  and  disease,  and  shame,  and  enlarge 
more  upon  the  moral  degradation  to  his  own 
soul  which  he  fastens  upon  himself  both  for  this 
life  and  the  life  to  come. 

We  are  all  of  us  perpetually  liable  to  gross 
self-deception  by  thus  transferring  in  fancy  our 
love  or  our  hate  for  the  consequences  of  vices  or 
virtues  to  the  vices  or  virtues  themselves.  If  we 
made  this  transfer  in  fact,  we  should  at  once  set 
about  gaining  the  one  and  putting  away  the 
other ;  but  so  long  as  we  believe  that  ^n  dwells 
within  us  without  our  consent  and  approval  we 
become  daily  more  and  more  the  servants  of  sin. 

We  not  unfrequently  see  a  very  poor  family 
having  an  intense  desire  for  education,  and  their 
poverty,  instead  of  putting  its  acquisition  out  of 
their  reach,  seems  only  to  stimulate  their  ardor  of 
pursuit.  One  half  of  their  time  will  perhaps  be 
spent  in  the  most  arduous  labor  in  order  to  pro- 
cure the  means  of  obtaining  the  aid  of  books 
and  teachers  to  enrich  the  other  half;  and  no  self- 
denial  in  dress  or  physical  indulgence  seems 
painful,  when  weighed  against  the  pleasure  of  in- 
creasing the  means  of  education.  Here  is  genu- 
ine love  of  learning,  and  the  result  of  its  efforts 
will  prove  the  truth  of  the  old  adage,  "  Where 


AFFECTIOIJ.  109 

there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way."  This  family  is 
acting  out  its  life's  love  understandingly  and 
with  fixed  purpose. 

Perhaps  in  the  very  next  house  to  this  is  an- 
other family  of  not  nearly  so  small  property. 
They  too  profess  great  love  of  and  desire  for 
education ;  but  there  is  no  corresponding  effort. 
They  must  dress  with  a  certain  degree  of  gentil- 
ity, and  they  must  not  make  an  effort  to  earn 
money  by  any  means  that  would  seem  to  lower 
their  standing  in  society ;  and,  moreover,  they  are 
indolent,  and  the  effort  that  the  denial  of  phys- 
ical indulgences  requires  seems  insupportable  to 
them.  The  parents  of  this  family  will  often  be 
heard  lamenting  that  their  children  cannot  have 
an  education  ;  and  if  one  should  venture  to  indi- 
cate the  possibility  of  their  obtaining  one  for 
themselves  as  their  neighbors  are  doing,  they  will 
reply  that  their  children  have  not  strength  to 
struggle  along  in  that  way,  or  that  they  are  too 
proud  to  get  an  education  in  a  way  that  would 
seem  to  place  them  in  point  of  social  rank  below 
any  of  their  fellow-students.  This  family  are 
acting  out  their  life's  love  just  as  thoroughly, 
though  not  as  understandingly,  as  the  other. 
They  do  not  desire  education  from  love  for  it, 
but  because  it  would  give  them  a  certain  stand- 
ing in  society,  and  not  having  the  means  of  in- 
dulging vanity  in  this  direction,  they  turn  to  dress 
and  idleness,  as  easier  signs  of  what  is  vulgarly 


110  THE    ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

called  gentility.  Still  these  persons  would  deem 
you  unjust  and  unkind  if  you  told  them  they 
were  living  in  ignorance  because  they  had  no 
true  love  for  education ;  and  they  would  hardly 
deem  you  sane  should  you  tell  them  that  the 
Character  of  every  human  being  is  the  sum  and 
continent  and  expression  of  all  that  he  best  loves. 

We  cannot  truly  love  anything  that  we  do  not 
understand,  —  anything  that  has  not  a  distinct 
existence  in  our  thoughts  and  imaginations  ;  and 
all  of  Character  that  we  love  and  can  clearly  im- 
age to  ourselves  we  can  bring  out  into  life.  The 
Affections  are  the,  children  of  the  Will,  and  if  the 
Will  be  determined  and  steadfast,  there  is  no 
limit  but  the  finiteness  of  humanity  to  the  prog- 
ress in  whatever  is  undertaken.  When  we  love 
ardently,  all  effort  seems  light  compared  with  the 
good  we  expect  to  derive  from  the  possession  of 
that  which  we  love.  If  we  become  weary  and 
faint  by  the  way,  it  is  because  we  lack  intensity 
of  love. 

In  reading  the  lives  of  distinguished  men,  we 
find  that,  in  the  pursuit  of  whatever  has  raised 
them  above  the  mass  of  men,  they  knew  no 
discouragement,  acknowledged  no  impossibility. 
We  read  of  travellers  who,  to  satisfy  a  burning 
curiosity  for  discovery,  pass  through  peril  and  fa- 
tigue that  is  fearful  for  us  even  to  think  of;  and 
yet  they,  so  intense  was  their  love  for  what  they 
sought,   encountered    all   with    a   determination 


AFFECTION.  Ill 

that  made  suffering  and  danger  indifferent,  nay, 
almost  acceptable  to  them.  So  the  inventor 
labors,  year  after  year,  through  poverty  and  priva- 
tion, compensated  for  all  by  the  anticipation  of  the 
satisfaction  that  will  be  his  when  his  darling 
object  is  attained.  So  the  student,  the  philan- 
thropist, the  statesman,  labors  in  like  manner, 
lighted  by  thought,  cheered  by  imagination, 
warmed  by  love.  Needful  as  may  be  the  light 
and  the  cheer,  it  is  the  warmth  only  that  can 
give  life.  We  may  know  and  imagine,  and  yet 
perform  nothing ;  but  when  love  is  wakened,  per- 
formance becomes  a  necessity  of  our  being;  and 
every  sacrifice  of  momentary  pleasure  we  make 
in  order  to  obtain  the  fruition  of  our  desires  is 
not  only  without  pain,  but  it  is  sweet  as  self- 
denial  to  a  lover,  if  perchance  he  may  give  pleas- 
ure thereby  to  the  object  of  his  passion.  It  is  the 
merest  self-delusion  for  any  one  to  sit  still  and 
say,  "  I  love  this  or  I  love  that  trait  of  Character; 
but  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  gain  it."  They  who 
love  do  not  sit  still  and  lament.  Love  is  ever  up 
and  doing  and  striving.  They  who  sit  still  and 
lament,,  love  the  indulgence  of  their  own  indo- 
lence better  than  aught  else,  and  what  they  love 
they  attain. 

It  is  of  course  impossible  that  all  should  be- 
come distinguished  by  the  efforts  they  may  make 
in  life ;  and  this  is  not  what  we  should  aim  at  in 
the  training  of  Character.     To  be  distinguished 


112  THE    ELEIiENTS    OF    CHAEACTES. 

implies  something  comparative,  —  implies,  if  we 
aim  after  becoming  so,  that  we  seek  to  be 
superior  to  others.  This  is  not  an  aim  that  can 
be  admitted  in  Christian  training.  Character 
is  something  between  us  and  our  God,  and 
every  thought  we  admit  that  savors  of  rivalry 
or  emulation  in  our  efforts  degrades  them,  and 
takes  from  them  the  sanctity  that  can  alone  in- 
sure success.  The  moment  that  fipds  us  saying, 
"  I  am  glad  that  I  am  better  than  my  neighbor," 
or  even,  "  I  desire  to  be  better  than  I  wish  to  see 
him,"  that  moment  finds  us  destitute  of  a  true 
conception  of  Christian  charity.  "We  cannot 
attain  to  a  healthy  growth  of  Character  until, 
smitten  by  the  beauty  of  excellence,  we  worship 
its  perfection  in  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  and  with 
hearts  fixed  on  him,  strive,  trusting  in  his  aid,  to 
be  perfect  even  as  he  is  perfect.  In  this  effort  we 
must  shut  out  from  our  hearts  every  emotion 
that  cannot  be  admitted  into  our  prayers  to  him 
for  light  and  strength.  Are  we  sorrowful  that 
our  neighbor  is  gaining  upon  the  way  faster  than 
ourselves,  let  us  remember  that  this  emotion  is 
virtually  a  prayer  that  his  strength  may  be  less- 
ened for  our  sake ;  and  let  us  change  it  as  quick- 
ly as  we  can  to  a  more  earnest  longing  after  our 
own  growth,  without  comparing  ourselves  with 
any  human  being.  Elation,  if  we  think  we  have 
passed  another  in  the  race,  is  a  vice  of  the  same 
character  as  envy  at  another  for  surpassing  us. 


AFFECTION.  113 

Such  envy  and  such  elation  are  children  of  that 
pride  of  heart  that  shuts  the  door  on  all  brotherly- 
love.  It  is  that  vice  by  which  Cain  fell,  and  so 
far  as  we  admit  it  into  our  bosoms  we  volunta- 
rily become  the  children  of  Cain. 

The  Lord  tells  us  to  seek  first  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  and  its  righteousness,  and  that  all  other 
good  things  shall  be  added  unto  us.  We  cannot 
suppose  he  meant  by  this  that  the  reward  of 
virtue  was  to  be  found  in  houses  and  lands,  or 
worldly  wealth  of  any  kind,  although  he  enu- 
merated these  things  in  the  promise ;  for  we 
know  that  these  are,  perhaps,  as  often  possessed 
in  abundance  by  the  basest  of  men  as  by  the  most 
virtuous.  How,  then,  are  we  to  understand  this 
promise  ?  To  seek  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and 
its  righteousness  is  to  serve  the  Lord  with  all  the 
heart,  and  soul,  and  mind,  and  strength ;  and  the 
rewards  appropriate  to  such  service  surely  can- 
not be  counted  in  silver  and  gold.  These  may 
adorn  the  happiness  that  virtue  gives ;  but  they 
cannot  constitute  it  He  who  labors  simply  for 
the  love  of  wealth  is  content  if  he  obtain  the  re- 
ward he  seeks ;  but  he  who  labors  to  obtain  the 
fully  developed  character  of  a  man, — the  image 
and  likeness  of  God,  —  if  he  attain  nothing  be- 
yond wealth,  would  feel  such  reward  to  be  only  a 
mockery  of  his  desires.  Such  labor  lifts  us  above 
the  happiness  external  possessions  can  give,  and 
bestows  upon  us  a  wealth  that  the  world  cannot 
8 


11.4        THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHABACTEK. 

take  away.  He  who  wishes  to  serve  God  ac- 
ceptably, cultivates  all  his  capacities  to  the  best 
of  his  ability,  in  order  to  increase  his  power  of 
leading  a  useful  life,  and  is  therefore  constantly 
adding  to  himself  possessions  that  can  never 
leave  him;  —  rational  and  spiritual  possessions 
which,  in  relation  to  our  internal  life,  correspond 
to  worldly  possessions  in  relation  to  our  external 
life,  and  were  therefore  signified  in  the  parabolic 
language  of  the  Lord. 

When  the  philosopher  of  old  lost  the  library 
he  had  been  all  his  life-long  collecting,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  My  books  have  done  me  little  service 
if  they  have  not  taught  me  to  live  happily  with- 
out them."  He  had  made  their  contents  his  own 
by  diligent  study,  and  no  power  could  take  this 
from  him,  and  they  had  made  him  wise  by  their 
instructions,  so  that  he  could  possess  his  soul  in 
patience  under  external  losses  of  any  kind.  The 
man  who  studies  books,  though  he  may  not  own 
a  volume,  makes  them  his  own  far  more  com- 
pletely than  the  bibliomaniac  who  spends  a  for- 
tune in  filling  his  library  with  choice  editions  of 
works  life  is  not  long  enough  to  read.  So 
it  is  with  works  of  art.  He  who  can  most 
truly  appreciate  them  is  he  who  really  owns 
them.  One  man  will  fill  his  house  with  pic- 
tures and  statues  and  all  beautiful  works  of 
art,  because  the  possession  of  such  things  gives 
distinction  in  society.     He  collects  them,  not  be- 


AFFECTION.  115 

cause  he  loves  art,  but  because  he  loves  himself; 
and  values  them  precisely  in  proportion  to  the 
sums  of  money  they  have  cost  him.  Those 
among  his  visitors  who  love  art  for  its  own  sake, 
and  have  learned  to  appreciate  such  things  justly, 
have  a  pleasure  incomparably  more  interior  and 
profound  in  gazing  upon  them  than  he  who  re- 
joices in  having  paid  large  sums  of  money  for 
them ;  and  surely  no  one  of  such  visitors  would 
exchange  his  power  of  appreciation  for  the  others 
external  possession  of  them.  Who,  then,  is  the 
true  owner,  if  not  he  who  feels  most  delight  in 
contemplating  them,  and  who  has  the  most  deli- 
cate perception  of  all  their  shades  of  beauty  ? 

In  the  highest  of  all  enjoynients  of  the  eye, 
that  which  we  derive  from  the  contemplation  of 
external  nature',  the  man  whose  soul  is  most 
deeply  thrilled  by  its  beauty,  whose  heart  rises  in 
worship  as  he  gazes  upon  the  mountains  in  their 
calm  sublimity,  and  remembers  how  the  Lord 
frequented  such  heights  for  prayer,  and  who 
wanders  beneath  the  shadows  of  the  woods,  feel- 
ing that  "  the  groves  were  God's  first  temples," 
this  man  surely  has  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  in 
closer  possession  than  he  who  holds  thousands 
of  acres  in  fee. 

Whatever  possessions  we  can  name,  whether 
external  or  internal,  whether  of  the  heart,  the 
head,  or  the  hand,  it  is  love  by  which  we  truly 
hold  them.     Nothing  is  ours  that  we  do  not  love, 


116  THE    ELEMENTS   OF    CHARACTER. 

and  through  love  we  obtain  possession  of  all  that 
our  hearts  crave. 

The  love,  however,  that  is  so  strong  to  obtain 
must  be  no  superficial  sentiment,  but  an  inward 
passion  of  the  heart.  So  long  as  we  live  in 
thought  and  imagination  we  are  very  apt  to  mis- 
take mere  sentiment  for  love ;  but  the  difference 
will  show  itself  so  soon  as  we  begin  to  act. 
Sentiment  is  soon  wearied  by  labor  and  difficulty 
in  its  pursuit  of  mental  attainment,  soon  dis- 
gusted by  squalor  or  offended  by  ingratitude  in 
its  attempts  at  benevolence,  soon  discouraged  by 
the  hardness  of  its  own  heart  when  it  endeavors 
to  acquire  self-control,  or  to  gain  such  virtues  as 
seem  in  the  abstract  lovely  and  delightful.  In 
short,  sentiment  wants  a  royal  road  to  whatever 
it  strives  to  reach.  Love,  on  the  contrary,  is  too 
much  in  earnest  to  be  dismayed  by  any  impedi- 
ment. It  will  not  stop  half-way  and  make  ex- 
excuses  for  its  short-comings.  It  rests  not  in  its 
course  until  it  has  gained  what  it  seeks ;  and 
then  it  rests  not  long,  for  all  true  love  "  grows  by 
what  it  feeds  on,"  and  every  height  of  excellence 
we  reach  does  but  enlarge  the  field  of  vision 
and  show  us  new  countries  to  be  w^on. 

Admitting  love  to  be,  indeed,  this  intense  and 
all-pervading  power,  and  the  very  life  of  our 
souls,  the  importance  of  training  ourselves  to 
love  only  that  which  is  pure  and  true  at  once  be- 
comes manifest.     The  heights  of  heaven  are  not 


AFFECTION.  117 

farther  from  the  depths  of  hell  than  are  the  re- 
sults that  come  to  us  if  we  seek  the  pure  and  the 
true  from  those  which  inevitably  occur  when  the 
choice  falls  upon  the  impure  and  the  false.  Let 
no  one  think  to  dwell  in  safety  because  he  has 
not  deliberately  said  to  himself,  "  I  choose  the 
impure  and  the  false";  for  if  the  pure  and  the 
true  be  not  deliberately  and  voluntarily  chosen, 
the  heart  out  of  its  own  inherent  selfishness  and 
worldliness  will  unconsciously  sink  gradually, 
but  surely,  into  the  impure  and  the  false.  There 
is  no  half-way  resting-place  for  humanity  be- 
tween good  and  evil.  We  are  always  sinking, 
unless  we  are  rising ;  going  backward,  unless 
we  are  pressing  forward. 

Much  is  said  of  the  truth  and  purity  of  child- 
hood, and  they  are  very  beautiful,  for  the  angels 
that  care  for  children  do  continually  behold  the 
face  of  the  Heavenly  Father,  —  do  stand  perpetu- 
ally within  the  sphere  of  absolute  truth  and  pu- 
rity. But  soon  the  child  slips  the  leading-strings 
of  its  guardian  spirit,  and  comes  into  its  own 
liberty  ;  and  now,  unless  it  freely  chooses  to  fol- 
low with  willing  and  constant  step  in  the  same 
path  wherein  it  has  thus  far  been  led,  it  will 
wander  from  side  to  side,  increasing  at  each 
turning  the  distance  that  separates  it  from  the 
way  of  life,  until  at  last  it  may  wander  so  far 
that  it  loses  the  desire  and  even  the  memory 
which  might  lead  it  to  return.     Vicious  propen- 


» 

118  THE    ELEBIENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

sities  will,  perhaps,  begin  to  show  themselves ; 
and  in  the  hardened  and  shameless  youth  it  will 
be  hard  to  recognize  any  trace  of  the  innocence 
of  infancy.  But,  perhaps,  instead  of  viciousness, 
carelessness  is  developed,  and  youth  is  bright- 
ened by  gayety,  amiability,  and  ready  generosity. 
Occasional  derelictions  from  truth  and  honor 
find  ready  apologists  among  friends,  because  the 
boy  or  the  girl  is  so  "  good-hearted " ;  but  a 
closer  inspection  readily  shows  that  the  goodness 
of  heart  is  very  superficial,  that  the  left  hand  is 
often  unjust  while  the  right  is  generous,  that  a 
lie  is  no  offence  to  the  conscience,  if  it  be  a 
good-natured  one,  and  in  short  that  very  little 
dependence  can  be  placed  on  the  uprightness 
that  has  no  firmer  base  than  good-heartedness. 
Young  persons  of  this  sort  are  sometimes  led 
away  to  commit  some  act  so  base  that  their 
eyes  are  opened  to  the  dangers  that  beset  the 
path  in  which  they  are  travelling,  and  in  sorrow 
and  dismay  they  turn  to  seek  the  way  of  inno- 
cence whence  they  had  wandered.  Too  often, 
however,  the  carelessness  of  youth  passes  into 
the  indifference  of  adult  life  and  the  callousness 
of  old  age.  What  can  be  more  revolting  than 
an  old  age  cold,  hard,  and  selfish  ?  Yet  this  is 
the  natural  and  almost  unavoidable  result  of  a 
youth  that  does  not  fix  its  heart  in  unwavering 
love  upon  truth  and  purity, — whose  aspirations 
are  not  for  those  things  which  cannot  grow  old. 


AFFECTION.  119 

and  which  the  world  can  neither  give  nor  take 
away.  A  heart  filled  with  love  for  excellence 
can  never  grow  old  ;  for  it  will  go  on  increasing 
in  all  that  is  lovely  and  gracious  so  long  as  it 
lives ;  and  where  there  is  perpetual  growth  of  the 
faculties  there  can  be  no  decay.  We  grow  old, 
not  by  wear,  but  by  rust ;  and  we  can  never  be- 
come the  prey  of  rust  while  our  faculties  are 
kept  bright  by  the  power  and  the  exercise  of 
earnest  love.  The  fleshly  body  must  grow  old 
and  die,  for  it  is  of  the  earth  earthy ;  but  it  is 
by  our  own  weakness  and  indolence  if  our  spirit- 
ual body  ever  gathers  a  wrinkle  on  its  brow. 
When  the  fleshly  body  drops  from  us,  what  must 
be  our  shame  and  our  despair  if  we  rise  in  a 
spiritual  body  deformed  with  evil  passions,  or 
corrupt  with  the  leprosy  of  sin.  Too  many, 
alas !  spend  all  their  energies  in  feeding  and 
clothing  and  sheltering  the  natural  body,  leav- 
ing the  spiritual  body  hungry  and  naked  and 
cold.  We  sometimes  hear  wonder  expressed 
that  a  mind  thus  starved  has  become  super- 
annuated and  doating,  while  the  body  still  carries 
on  its  functions  with  vigor ;  but  had  the  body 
been  treated  with  a  similar  neglect,  it  would  have 
long  before  returned  to  the  dust.  The  growth  of 
the  spiritual  body  should  be  continuous  from  the 
cradle  through  eternity;  and  seldom  can  any 
other  reason,  than  our  own  neglect,  be  as- 
signed for  its  disease  or  decay.     The  bread  of 


120  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHAEACTEE. 

life  is  perpetually  offered  for  its  support,  and  if  it 
refuses  to  eat,  its  death  is  on  its  own  head. 

Infants  who  pass  into  the  spiritual  world  be- 
fore they  are  touched  by  a  taint  of  earth  are, 
probably,  through  the  absence  of  all  evil  in  those 
who  are  suffered  to  approach  them,  trained  into 
a  purity  of  Affection  that  fills  their  whole  being 
with  its  genial  warmth,  descending,  or  raying 
out,  into  all  the  imaginations  of  the  soul  and  all 
the  thoughts  of  the  mind.  Thus  they  serve  God 
in  the  order  which  the  Saviour  commanded,  with 
all  the  heart,  and  soul,  and  mind.  They,  how- 
ever, who  remain  long  on  earth,  almost  without 
exception,  have  the  order  of  their  nature  so  re- 
versed, that  their  powers  must  be  converted  to 
the  right,  in  the  order  of  St.  Paul,  ascending  from 
the  lowest  to  the  highest;  or,  which  is  the  same 
thing,  passing  from  the  outmost  to  the  inmost. 
The  lowest  and  most  external  part  of  the  being 
must  be  made  obedient  to  the  laws  of  Divine 
Order,  and  on  this  as  a  foundation  must  the 
higher  and  internal  nature  be  built  up,  until  it 
forms  a  sanctuary ;  and  upon  its  altar  shall  fire 
from  heaven  descend  so  often  as  a  gift  is  offered. 

The  practice  of  external  vice,  just  in  propor- 
tion to  its  grossness,  incapacitates  us  for  per- 
ceiving what  is  true  or  loving  what  is  good. 
By  vice  is  not  meant  crime  such  as  exposes  us 
to  punishment  by  the  law  of  the  land,  but  sins 
against  the  laws  of  God,  that  bring  their  own 


AFFECTION.  *  121 

punishment  with  them,  by  defacing  the  image  of 
God  in  the  soul.  There  is  always  need  of 
searching  the  heart  to  find  if  we  have  committed 
crimes  against  the  soul ;  for  the  laws  of  the  land 
deal  only  with  the  excessive  derelictions  from 
right  which  we  cannot  ignorantly  commit.  We 
may,  however,  go  on  unconsciously  in  the  com- 
mission of  great  sins  until  our  hearts  become 
hardened  against  all  emotions  of  heavenly  affec- 
tion, and  our  eyes  blinded  so  that  we  cannot  dis- 
tinguish the  difference  between  darkness  and 
light.  If  we  would  avoid  this  fearful  condition, 
we  must  often  go  to  the  Gospels,  and  place  the 
words  of  the  Lord,  in  their  various  teachings, 
especially  as  they  come  to  us  from  the  Mount,  as 
it  were  in  judgment  over  against  us,  and  reading 
verse  by  verse,  fathom  the  depths  of  our  hearts, 
and  confess  whether  we  are  guilty  or  no.  Would 
we  escape  such  guilt,  we  must  study  these  in- 
structions again  and  again,  until,  as  Moses  com- 
manded of  the  laws  of  the  elder  Scripture, 
"  they  shall  be  with  us  when  we  sit  in  our  homes, 
or  walk  by  the  way,  or  lie  down,  or  rise  up. 
And  we  shall  bind  them  for  a  sign  upon  our 
hands,  and  they  shall  be  as  frontlets  between  our 
eyes.  And  we  shall  write  them  upon  the  posts 
of  our  houses,  and  upon  our  gates." 

When  we  place  the  words  of  the  Lord  in 
judgment  over  against  us,  and  feel  compelled  to 
acknowledge  our  unfaithfulness  to  their  require- 


122   *    THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

ments,  there  is  danger  of  our  falling  into  despair 
through  the  consciousness  that  is  thus  forced 
upon  us  of  our  want  of  love  for  the  law  of  the 
Lord.  The  indulgence  of  our  own  wills  is  so 
sweet  to  us,  that  we  cannot  see  how  it  is  possible 
that  the  yoke  of  the  Lord  can  ever  become  easy 
to  our  stiffened  necks.  We  feel  as  though  an 
obedience  that  did  not  spring  from  true  love 
could  not  be  called  obedience,  nay,  was  almost  a 
sin  ;  for  it  seems  to  savor  of  hypocrisy.  In  this 
state  of  mind,  our  only  refuge  is  in  that  faith 
which  St.  Paul  tells  us  "  is  the  substance  of 
things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  unseen"  ; 
and  then,  unless  this  faith  be  strong  enough  to 
make  us  obey,  though  not  from  love,  yet  from  a 
simple  belief  that  at  any  rate  obedience  is  better 
than  disobedience,  our  state  is  wretched  indeed. 
Our  rationality  tells  us  that  obedience  is  naught 
unless  we  love  to  obey,  but  an  inward  conviction 
of  the  soul  —  may  we  not  call  it  the  voice  of  God  ? 
—  entreats  us,  saying,  "  this  do,  and  thou  shalt 
live."  If,  in  the  ardor  of  our  faith,  we  can  forget 
our  rationality,  and  cry,  "  Lord,  I  believe ;  help 
thou  mine  unbelief" ;  and  if  we  force  ourselves  to 
do  that  which  we  are  commanded,  though  at  first 
it  may  appear  to  us  an  act  purely  external  and 
dead,  we  shall  soon  find,  that,  if  planted  in  dark- 
ness, it  is  still  a  living  seed,  and  the  Lord  will 
water  it  till  it  shall  spring  into  a  growth  of 
beauty  that  our  hearts  will  cleave  to  with  delight. 


AFFECTION.  123 

The  first  obedience  of  the  soul  that  has  entered 
upon  the  way  of  regeneration  is  hardly  less  ig- 
norant than  that  of  the  little  child  who  obeys  his 
parent  without  comprehending  the  use  or  propri- 
ety of  his  commands  ;  and,  like  that  of  the  little 
child,  it  consists  in  abstaining  from  doing  that 
which  is  wrong,  rather  than  in  doing  that  which 
is  right.  As  the  child  grows  older,  he  can  look 
back  upon  those  commands  and  understand 
them ;  and  then  he  is  filled  with  gratitude  and 
love  towards  his  parent  for  putting  them  upon 
him.  So.  he  who  seeks  to  love  the  Lord  must 
obey  first,  and  understand  afterward,  —  must 
keep  the  commandments  ere  he  can  know  the 
doctrines,  —  must  abstain  from  doing  wrong  be- 
fore the  Lord  can  implant  in  his  heart  the  love 
of  doing  right. 

In  the  first  stages  of  regenerating  life  we  think 
we  love  the  Lord,  although  we  know  that  we  do 
not  love  our  fellow-beings  as  we  ought;  and  we 
cannot  comprehend  the  truth,  that  he  who  does 
not  love  his  brother,  whom  he  has  seen,  cannot 
love  the  Lord,  whom  he  has  not  seen ;  and  we 
think  it  is  much  easier  to  be  pious  towards  God 
than  to  be  charitable  towards  men.  If  our  faith 
is  strong  enough  to  induce  us  to  obey  the  ex- 
ternal commandment  of  doing  as  we  would  be 
done  by,  the  affection  of  true  brotherly  love  by 
degrees  grows  up  within  us,  we  know  not  how, 
for  the  spirit  of  God  has  breathed  upon  us  when 


124  THE    ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

we  were  not  aware ;  and  then  we  perceive  how 
imperfect  was  the  love  we  bore  to  the  Lord, 
when  we  had  not  learned  to  feel  that  the  attri- 
bute which  awakens  true  love  for  him  is  the  per- 
fect love  he  bears  towards  each  one  of  us,  and 
that  we  can  appreciate  this  love  only  so  far  as 
we  imitate  it  by  feeling  willing  to  do  all  the  good 
we  can  to  every  neighbor,  without  distinction  of 
person,  after  the  manner  in  which  he  causes  the 
sun  to  shine  and  the  rain  to  fall  alike  upon  the 
evil  and  upon  the  good. 

To  live  thus  in  charity  with  all  men  is  not  to 
do  external  acts  of  benevolence  indiscriminately 
to  all,  without  respect  of  person.  There  is  a 
common,  but  erroneous,  idea  in  the  world,  that 
simply  to  give  is  charity.  To  live  what  many 
esteem  a  life  of  charity,  that  is  a  life  of  indis- 
criminate giving,  is  often  to  pay  a  bounty  upon 
idleness  and  improvidence,  and  to  furnish  the 
means  of  vicious  indulgence.  While  remember- 
ing the  command  to  give  to  those  who  ask,  we 
must  not  forget  the  prohibition  against  casting 
pearls  before  swine.  To  give  good  things  to 
those  we  have  reason  to  suppose  will  abuse 
them  is  as  wrong  as  to  withhold  our  gifts  from 
those  who  would  use  them.  To  give  igno- 
rantly,  when  we  know  not  the  value  of  the  claim 
upon  our  benevolence,  is  at  best  but  a  negative 
virtue,  and  we  should  bear  in  mind  that  every- 
thing we  bestow  upon  the  unworthy  is  so  much 
abridged  from  our  means  of  aiding  the  worthy. 


AFFECTION.  125 

Many  persons  seem  to  suppose  that  charity 
consists  entirely  in  alms-giving,  while  this  is  only 
its  lowest  form.  Kind  deeds  and  kind  words 
are  as  truly  works  of  charity  as  pecuniary  gifts,  ' 
and  we  do  not  lead  lives  of  charity  unless  we  are 
as  ready  with  those  in  the  home  circle  and  in  our 
social  relations  as  with  these  among  the  poor. 
God  shows  his  love  to  his  children  by  providing 
them  with  sustenance  for  the  body,  for  the  intel- 
lect, and  for  the  affections,  and  if  we  would  re- 
semble him,  we  must  show  our  love  to  the  neigh- 
bor by  being  always  ready  to  minister  to  the 
wants  of  those  around  us,  in  whatever  form  they 
may  arise. 

We  are  told  to  give  even  as  we  receive,  and 
we  are  also  told  that  we  are  stewards  of  the 
Lord  ;  that  is,  that  all  our  gifts  are  held  in  trust 
from  him ;  and  we  must  use  them  in  such  a  way 
that  at  his  coming  he  may  find  his  own  with 
usury.  True  charity  never  impoverishes.  In 
outward  possessions  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a 
man  who  has  made  himself  poor  by  acts  of 
benevolence,  for  a  just  and  wise  benevolence  is 
almost  sure  to  be  accompanied  by  an  orderly  de- 
velopment of  the  faculties  such  as  in  our  country 
makes  prosperity  almost  certain.  In  intellectual 
attainments  most  persons  are  familiar  with  the 
fact,  that  there  is  no  way  by  which  we  can  so 
thoroughly  confirm  and  make  clear  in  our  own 
minds  anything  that  we  know,  as  by  imparting  it 


126  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

to  another.  In  all  that  relates  to  the  affectional 
part  of  our  being,  none  can  doubt  that  we  grow 
by  giving.  The  more  we  love,  the  more  we  find 
that  is  lovely ;  and  it  is  only  in  proportion  as  we 
love  that  we  can  learn  to  comprehend  that  God 
is  infinitely  powerful  by  reason  of  his  infinite 
love.  If  we  would  make  our  one  talent  two,  or 
our  five  talents  ten,  the  best  way  to  do  it  is  by 
giving  of  all  that  we  have  to  those  who  are 
poorer  than  ourselves.  - 

Every  person  has  within  him  three  planes  of 
life,  which  constitute  his  being,  and  which,  dur- 
ing the  progress  of  regeneration,  are  successively 
developed ;  viz.,  the  natural,  the  spiritual,  and  the 
heavenly.  With  those  who  lead  an  externally 
good  life  on  the  natural  plane,  that  is,  who  act 
more  from  the  impulses  of  a  kind  disposition  or 
a  blind  obedience  than  from  the  light  of  Chris- 
tian truth,  charity  consists  merely  in  supplying 
the  natural  wants  of  the  neighbor  by  making 
him  more  comfortable  in  his  external  condition ; 
and  this  is  well,  for  there  is  little,  if  any,  use  in 
trying  to  improve  the  inner  man  while  the  outer 
is  bowed  down  with  want  or  squalid  with  im- 
purity. This  is  the  basis  of  the  higher  planes  of 
charity,  the  first  in  time,  though  lowest  in  degree. 
There  are  those  who  think  lightly  of  this  form 
of  charity,  because  it  is  lowest  in  degree,  forget- 
ting that  it  is  absolutely  essential  as  a  basis  for 
everything  that  is  higher.     This  truth  may  be 


AFFECTION.  127 

illustrated  by  the  duties  of  the  parents  of  a  family. 
It  is  easy  to  perceive  that  the  highest  duty  of  par- 
ents is  the  spiritual  training  of  their  children,  that 
the  second  is  to  give  them  an  intellectual  educa- 
tion, while  the  third  and  lowest  is  to  feed  and 
clothe  and  shelter  their  bodies.  This  duty  towards 
the  body,  although  lowest  in  degree,  is  first  in 
time  ;  and  ministering  to  the  wants  of  the  natural 
^bodies  of  their  children,  that  they  may  grow  up 
strong  and  healthy,  is  the  first  duty  to  be  per- 
formed in  order  to  insure,  so  far  as  possible,  a 
trustworthy  basis  on  which  to  build  up  their 
spiritual  bodies.  It  should,  however,  be  dis- 
tinctly kept  in  mind  that  this  is  only  the  lowest 
plane  of  parental  ,duty,  and  that  to  rise  no 
higher  is,  as  it  were,  to  lay  a  solid  foundation 
with  labor  and  expense,  and  then  leave  it  with 
no  superstructure,  a  monument  of  folly. 

From  this  class  of  charitable  persons  come 
those  who  found  institutions  and  lead  reforms 
having  in  view  the  amelioration  of  the  physical 
condition  of  the  human  race.  In  regarding  this 
as  the  lowest  class,  no  disrespect  towards  it  is  in- 
tended, for  it  is  absolutely  essential  as  a  basis  to 
the  higher  ;  but  this  foundation  should  be  Recog- 
nized as  such  by  the  founder  in  order  that  he 
may  adapt  it  to  the  superstructure,  and  not  elab- 
orate the  former  at  the  expense  of  the  latter. 
The  parent  may  squander  his  means  upon  fine 
clothes  and  sumptuous  fare  until  he  has  nothing 


128  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTEK. 

left  for  the  intellectual  education  of  his  children  ; 
the  State  may  build  palaces  for  the  physical 
comfort  of  its  paupers  and  criminals,  until  there 
is  nothing  left  in  the  treasury  to  construct  school- 
houses  and  colleges  for  the  mental  training  of  its 
virtuous  children ;  the  philanthropist  may  so  be- 
stow his  charities  that  the  recipient  will  learn  to 
feel  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  rich  to  support  the 
poor,  and  so  become  a  pauper  when  he  might 
have  been  a  useful  citizen. 

With  those  whose  brotherly  love  is  of  the  sec- 
ond, or  spiritual,  degree,  charity  is  founded  on 
the  love  of  right,  the  love  of  giving  to  all  their 
just  due.  Those  of  the  first  class  will,  perhaps, 
deem  those  of  the  second  cold,  yet  a  close  obser- 
vation will  show  that  in  the  end  more  good  is 
done  to  society  through  the  efforts  of  the  latter 
than  of  the  former.  Where  the  generosity  of  the 
first  would  reform  the  condition  of  a  miserable 
neighborhood,  by  giving  the  sufferers  food  and 
raiment  and  shelter,  the  justice  of  the  second 
would  say  all  men  should  have  the  means  of 
acquiring  a  support  for  themselves,  and  his  efforts 
would  be  turned  to  providing  employment,  and 
encouraging  a  spirit  of  industry  among  the  poor. 
Where  the  first  would  build  almshouses  and 
hospitals,  the  second  would  build  factories  and 
workshops.  The  first  would  lavish  all  that  he 
had  in  direct  gifts  to  the  poor,  and  then  have 
nothing  more  in  his  power  to  do  for  them,  while 


AFFECTION.  129 

the  second,  by  husbanding  his  resources  at  first, 
would  be  able  presently  to  place  them  beyond  the 
need  of  aid.  The  first  will  be  so  generous  to- 
day that  it  will  be  hard  for  him  to  be  just  to- 
morrow, while  the  second,  by  doing  only  justice 
now,  gains  power  to  bring  about  the  most  gen- 
erous results  hereafter. 

This  second  degree  of  charity  or  brotherly  love 
should  not  ignore  or  contemn  the  first,  but  build 
itself  upon  it.  Justice  must  not  forget  mercy. 
The  poor  must  not  be  suffered  to  starve  before 
work  can  be  provided  for  them,  or  they  be  taught 
to  do  it.  One  Christian  virtue  does  not  destroy 
that  which  lies  beneath  it,  but  rises  to  its  true 
height  by  standing  upon  it.  We  do  not  pull 
away  the  base  of  a  structure  because  we  wish  its 
top  to  be  more  elevated. 

The  third,  or  heavenly,  degree  of  charity  re- 
sults from  love  to  the  Lord.  This  is  the  highest 
possible  form  of  charity,  and  through  its  develop- 
ment man  is  brought  into  connection  with  the 
highest  heavens.  The  first  form  of  charity  comes 
in  great  measure  from  a  love  of  self.  We  obey 
its  impulses  because  of  our  own  personal  distress 
at  witnessing  the  distress  of  others ;  and  where 
unrestrained  by  higher  principle,  these  impulses 
often  compel  us  to  be  unjust  to-day  because  we 
were  over-generous  yesterday.  The  second  form 
of  charity  results  from  true  brotherly  love,  that 
leads  us  to  restrain  impulse  because  principle 
9 


130  THE   ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

puts  it  in  our  power  to  do  so  much  more  for 
those  who  need  our  aid.  The  third  form  is  the 
fruit  of  love  to  the  Lord.  It  is  warmer  than  the 
first  and  wiser  than  the  second.  It  develops  the 
whole  power  of  man,  both  rational  and  afFec- 
tional,  by  leading  him  to  the  eternal  source  of  all 
power,  whence  cometh  down  to  us  all  capacity 
to  think  and  to  love.  Quickened  by  love  to  the 
Lord,  we  shall  perpetually  feel  that  we  are  his 
stewards,  and  while  we  are  filled  with  gratitude 
towards  him,  as  the  giver  of  every  good  thing  we 
possess,  we  shall  equally  be  filled  with  desire  to 
give  even  as  we  have  received,  good  measure, 
running  over,  and  shaken  together.  Then  we 
shall  feel,  that,  if  we  would  lead  lives  of  true 
charity,  it  must  be  by  imitating  the  Lord,  who 
showed  forth  his  love  towards  his  children,  first 
by  giving  them  the  earth  and  all  that  it  con- 
tained as  an  inheritance ;  secondly,  by  giving 
them  the  Word  of  his  divine  truth  to  teach  them 
the  way  in  which  they  should  walk ;  and  thirdly, 
by  coming  in  person  to  show  them  the  reality  of 
a  divine  life.  Finitely  imitating  this  infinite  ex- 
ample, as  we  advance  in  the  regeneration  of  our 
Affections,  we  shall  first  give  of  our  external  pos- 
sessions from  the  love  of  giving,  and  from  a  de- 
sire to  make  ourselves  happy  by  seeing  others  so. 
Next,  we  shall  give  from  the  knowledge  of  truth 
that  is  in  us,  working  with  such  wisdom  as  we 
possess,  to  help  others  to  make  themselves  happy. 


AFFECTION.  131 

Finally,  love  to  God  will  lead  us  to  perceive  that 
charity  in  the  highest  degree  is  the  leading  a 
good  life ;  and  that  he  who  is  pure  and  holy  and 
faithful  is  a  living  form  of  charity.  While  this 
state  does  not  destroy,  but  fills  full  the  two  pre- 
ceding ones  it  will  perhaps  diminish  rather  than 
increase  the  general  action  of  the  life  upon  so- 
ciety, because  its  tendency  is  to  increase  our 
earnestness  in  the  performance  of  the  immediate 
duties  of  life  that  are  included  in  the  family  cir- 
cle, and  in  all  that  relates  to  the  particular  occu- 
pation of  the  individual.  This  is  the  natural  re- 
sult of  an  interior  love  to  the  Lord ;  for  this  makes 
us  feel  his  immediate  presence  in  all  the  circum- 
stances of  daily  life,  and  so  causes  us  to  look 
upon  the  duty  that  lies  nearest  as  that  one  which 
the  Lord  wishes  us  to  perform  first ;  and  till  that 
is  done,  prevents  our  seeking  out  duties  more  re- 
mote and  less  apparent. 

In  studying  the  material  manifestations  of  the 
Divine  Love  and  Wisdom,  we  find  that  the  per- 
fection of  each  minutest  part  is  a  type  of  the  per- 
fection of  the  great  whole.  So  in  the  material 
works  of  man,  every  whole  thing  approaches  per- 
fection just  in  the  degree  that  its  several  parts 
are  perfect ;  and  it  is  vain  to  labor  for  great  re- 
sults while  we  overlook  minute  details.  So  in 
life,  society  can  never  be  a  virtuous  and  happy 
whole  until  each  individual,  in  his  special  voca- 
tion, fulfils  every  duty  pertaining  to  his  station. 
If  we  would   perform  our  quota  of  the   great 


132  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

whole,  we  must,  each  in  his  place,  fulfil  the 
duties  that  lie  around  us  ;  and  we  must  beware 
how  we  go  out  of  our  way  in  pursuit  of  duty, 
unless  we  are  confident  that  we  are  not  neglect- 
ing, or  perhaps  trampling  upon,  a  duty  that  lies 
directly  in  our  path. 

There  is  especial  danger,  at  the  present  day, 
that  many  of  us  may  need  to  be  warned  like  the 
scribe  of  old,  wearied  with  his  task-work,  not  to 
seek  great  things  for  ourselves.  As  Baruch  mur- 
mured because  he  must  again  and  again  write 
out  the  words  of  Jeremiah,  so  we  cry  out  wearily 
at  the  daily  recurring  duties  of  life,  and  would 
fain  seek  some  great  thing  whereby  to  show 
forth  our  devotion  to  the  truth.  This  is  because 
olir  love  to  the  Lord  is  not  yet  strong  enough  to 
regenerate  our  Affections.  In  proportion  as  this 
is  accomplished,  duty  will  become  lovely  to  us, 
because  it  is  what  the  Lord  sets  before  us  to  do. 
We  all  know  how  pleasant  it  is  to  do  the  will  of 
those  whom  we  most  love  on  earth,  and  so  would 
it  be  supremely  delightful  to  us  to  do  our  duty  if 
we  had  a  similar  love  for  our  Father  in  Heaven. 

As  the  little  coral  insect,  obeying  the  blind 
instinct  of  its  nature,  adds  particle  to  particle, 
and  builds  a  house  for  itself  at  the  same  time 
that  it  helps  to  construct  a  continent ; .  so  we, 
obeying  the  voice  of  God,  in  every  little  duty, 
performed  not  grudgingly,  but  with  the  heart,  are 
adding  something  to  our  eternal  mansions,  and 
helping  to  ienlarge  the  bounds  of  heaven. 


LIFE. 


"  Thou  shall  not  respect  the  'f)erson  of  the  poor,  nor  honor  the  person  of  the 
mighty:  but  in  righteousness  shalt  thou  judge  thy  neighbor." — Leviticus 
xix.  15. 

"  There  is  but  one  thing  of  which  I  am  afraid,  and  that  is/ear." —  Montaigne. 

"  Work  !  and  thou  shalt  bless  the  day, 
Ere  thy  task  be  done  ;^ 
They  that  work  not,  cannot  pray,  ' 
Cannot  feel  the  sun. 

"  Worlds  thou  mayst  possess  with  health 
And  unslumbering  powers ; 
Industry  alone  is  wealth,  — 
What  we  do  is  ours." 


Thought,  Imagination,  and  Affection,  com- 
bined harmoniously,  constitute  a  symmetrical 
Character,  and  they  should  manifest  themselves 
in  an  external  Life  of  corresponding  symmetry. 
The  external  Life  will  always  fall  short  of  the 
internal,  because  we  can  always  imagine  a  de- 
gree of  excellence  beyond  that  which  we  have 
reached,  let  our  efforts  be  earnest  and  active  as 
they  may ;  and  the  more  we  advance  in  Christian 
progress,  the  wider  will  the  vista  open  before  us 


134  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

of  that  which  we  may  yet  attain.  As  we  ascend 
the  heights  of  worldly  knowledge,  in  whatever  de- 
partment, the  horizon  widens  at  every  step ;  and 
we  always  know  that  the  horizon,  distant  as  it  may 
seem,  is  only  an  imaginary  limit  to  that  which 
may  be  known.  The  shallow  student,  in  the  in- 
flation of  self-conceit,  may  fancy  that  his  own 
narrow  valley  is  the  limit  of  the  universe ;  but 
the  wise  man  knows  that  limitation  belongs  only 
to  his  own  organization,  and  not  to  the  universe 
of  God.  So  in  the  training  of  Character,  we 
may  go  on  in  our  progress,  not  only  through  time, 
but  through  the  measureless  periods  of  eternity, 
and  yet  we  know  that  we  can  never  reach  that 
perfection  of  development  which  belongs  to  the 
All-perfect. 

Among  the  insane  dreamers  of  the  earth,  those 
are  found  who  deem  themselves  enjoying  light 
sufficient  to  live  lives  of  perfection,  even  in  this 
dim  morning  tw^ilight  that  lies  around  us  on 
earth  ;  but  it  is  their  bat-like  vision  which  takes 
for  noonday  that  which,  were  their  eyes  couched, 
would  seem  to  them  but  darkness  visible.  He 
who  fancies  that  he  leads  a  perfect  life  is  but  a 
dreamer  concerning  things  of  which  he  has  no 
true  knowledge. 

Perfection  is,  nevertheless,  the  object  at  which 
we  should  patiently  and  steadfastly  aim,  and  the 
loftiness  of  the  mark,  unattainable  though  it  be, 
will  shed  an  ennobling  influence  on  those  who 


LIFE.  135 

strive.  The  mass  of  human  beings  aim  at  noth- 
ing higher  than  to  be  as  virtuous  as,  or  a  very  lit- 
tle more  so  than,  their  neighbors ;  and  are  often 
more  than  contented  when  they  think  they  have 
reached  the  low  mark  at  which  they  aim.  To 
compare  ourselves  with  our  fellow-beings  is 
always  dangerous,  and  leads  to  envyings,  rival- 
ries, pride,  and  vainglory.  In  all  our  aims,  the 
absolute  should  be  our  only  mark.  If  in  intellec- 
tual pursuits  we  strive  only  to  know  as  much  as 
our  neighbors  for  the  sake  of  decency,  or  to 
know  more  than  they  for  the  gratification  of 
pride,  or  for  the  pursuit  of  weahh  or  honor,  we 
shall  never  reach  so  high  a  point  as  if  we  studied 
without  ever  stopping  to  compare  ourselves  with 
any  one ;  but  worked  right  on,  incited  simply  by 
the  desire  of  knowing  all  that  our  capacities  and 
opportunities  would  enable  us  to  acquire.  Work- 
ing thus,  we  should  go  on  our  way  rejoicing,  our 
.hearts  embittered  by  no  envyings,  inflated  by  no 
conceit.  Comparing  what  we  know  with  that 
which  we  do  not  know,  we  could  never  become 
vain  of  our  acquirements,  for  we  must  always 
feel  that  what  we  know  is  but  the  beginning  of 
that  which  remains  to  be  learned. 

So  in  Life,  if  we  compare  our  own  lives  with 
tlje  lives  of  our  neighbors,  we  shall  be  envious 
and  jealous,  or  else  self-conceited  and  proud  ;  and 
our  efforts  will  probably  soon  slacken,  and  then 
cease  ;  and  then  we  shall  begin  to  go  down  hill, 


136  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTEE. 

at  the  very  moment,  perhaps,  when  we  are  tak- 
ing credit  to  ourselves  for  our  rapid,  or  our  fin- 
ished, ascent.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  compare 
our  lives  with  that  absolute  perfection  which  the 
Lord  sets  before  us  as  our  model,  we  shall  incur 
the  danger  of  none  of  these  vices ;  and  though 
the  greatness  of  our  task  may  well  cause  us  to 
"work  in  fear  and  trembling,"  we  shall  ever  be 
cheered  by  the  consciousness  that  "  the  Lord 
worketh  within  us  both  to  will  and  to  do." 

When  our  characters  take  form  in  external 
Life,  Thought  must  give  us  discrimination.  Im- 
agination must  give  us  courage,  and  Affection 
must  give  us  earnestness ;  then  our  external 
nature  will  be  the  transparent  medium  through 
which  the  internal  nature  will  shine,  with  a  lustre 
undiminished  by  the  opacity  which  is  sure  to 
dim  its  radiance  when  dulness,  fearfulness,  or  in- 
dolence inheres  with  the  external  nature  ;  for  then 
it  forms  a  husk  to  hide,  instead  of  a  medium  to 
display,  the  workings  of  the  inner  being. 

The  powers  that  have  been  treated  of  in  the 
preceding  essays  are  sometimes  found  to  work 
well  so  long  as  they  work  upon  abstractions  ;  but 
so  soon  as  they  are  required  to  work  upon  the 
daily  Life,  they  fail  of  reaching  so  high  a  point 
of  excellence  as  we  think  we  had  reason  to  an- 
ticipate. This  results  from  the  want  of  either 
discrimination,  courage,  or  earnestness  ;  and  the 
inner  nature  cannot  be  thoroughly  trained  until 


LIFE.  137 

these  faculties  fire  so  developed  by  its  life-giving 
power,  that  their  weakness  ceases  to  interfere 
with  its  movements  when  it  seeks  to  manifest 
itself  in  external  Life. 

Thought  can  discriminate  abstractions  long 
before  it  can  discriminate  facts  in  their  relations 
with  Life.  It  can  reason  logicially  of  the  true 
and  the  false  in  the  realms  of  the  mind  long  be- 
fore it  can  tell  the  right  from  the  wrong  with  cor- 
rectness and  readiness  in  the  daily  ongoings  of 
events.  To  discriminate  justly  here,  we  must  be 
able  to  dissipate  the  mists  with  which  the  love  of 
self  and  the  love  of  the  world  obscure  the  way 
in  which  we  tread ;  hiding  that  which  we  ovght 
to  love,  and  displaying  in  enlarged  proportions 
the  things  that  we  do  love,  until  reason  loses  all 
just  data,  and  accepts  whatever  passion  offers  as 
foundation  for  its  judgments.  Persons  thus  mis- 
led, often  think  they  really  meant  to  walk  stead- 
fastly in  the  right  path,  and  that  they  are  not  re- 
sponsible for  having  wandered  into  the  wrong. 
They  call  what  they  have  done  an  error  of  judg- 
ment, and  rest  content  in  the  belief  that  their  in,- 
tentions  were  good,  and  therefore  they  are  not  to 
blame.  This  may  be  true,  for  "  to  err  is  human," 
and  none  but  the  All-wise  can  be  sure  of  always 
judging  rightly.  Still,  when  we  know  that  we 
have  done  wrong  through  an  error  of  judgment, 
we  should  carefully  examine  and  see  if  we  might 
not  have  avoided  this  mistake  had  we  been  more 


138        THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

'careful  in  our  investigation  of  facts,  —  more  con- 
sciencious  in  our  process  of  adopting  our  opin- 
ions. If  we  thus  catechized  our  past  errors,  we 
should  probably  find,  that,  in  a  large  proportion 
of  cases,  our  error  sprang  from  some  cause  we 
might  have  prevented,  —  from  carelessness,  from 
blindness  caused  by  the  desire  to  gratify  our  own 
wishes,  or  from  indolence ;  in  fact,  that  what  we 
fancied  sprang  from  an  error  of  judgment  only, 
had  a  much  deeper  root,  and  drew  its  nourish- 
ment from  undisciplined  Affections. 

In  training  the  faculty  of  discrimination,  the 
work  we  must  set  before  ourselves  is  to  learn  the 
relative  value  of  principles,  of  persons,  and  of 
things;  and  in  order  to  do  this,  we  must  look 
upon  them  in  their  relations  with  time  and  with 
eternity.  We  must  learn  to  value  and  to  judge 
from  laws  of  absolufe  right,  and  not  from  the  ex- 
pediencies of  the  hour. 

Protestants  quote  with  horror  the  Romish  max- 
im, that,  "  for  a  just  cause,  it  is  lawful  to  confirm 
equivocation  with  an  oath,"%yet  the  same  prin- 
ciple lurks  within  their  own  bosoms,  inciting 
many  a  well-intentioned  soul  to  "  do  evil  that 
good  may  come  of  it."  The  two  maxims  are 
twin  sisters,  and  children  of  the  father  of  lies. 
Persons  who  think  they  have  delicate  conscien- 
ces not  unfrequently  tell  what  they  call  small 
lies,  or  lies  of  expediency,  in  order  that  some 
good  may  come  of  it,  which  they  esteem  so  great 


LIFE.  139 

that  it  overbalances  the  evil  of  the  falsehood. 
This  class  of  persons  is  very  numerous,  and  of  all 
degrees,  running  from  the  mother  who  deludes 
her  child  into  being  a  "  good  boy  "  by  the  prom- 
ise of  punishment  or  of  favor  that  she  has  no  in- 
tention of  bestowing,  to  the  juror  who  swears  to 
^peak  the  truth,  and  then  affirms  that  a  guilty 
man  is  innocent,  fancying  that  it  is  less  a  sin  for 
him  to  commit  perjury  than  for  the  powers  that 
be  to  commit  what  he  calls  oppression,  injustice, 
or  legal  murder.  This  willingness  to  commit 
one  sin,  in  order  to  prevent  our  neighbor  from 
committing  another,  is  a  form  of  brotherly  love 
we  are  nowhere  enjoined  to  practise  ;  it  springs 
from  an  overweening  self-love,  that  believes  itself 
too  pure  to  be  contaminated  by  a  small  sin, 
while  it  forgets  that  a  wilful  disobedience  of  one 
commandment  is  in  its  essence  disobedience  to- 
wards the  whole  law.  All  who  do  evil  that  good 
may  come  of  it,  in  any  department  of  life,  belong 
to  this  same  class  of  persons.  They  ever  look 
upon  the  sins  of  their  neighbors  with  a  sharper 
eye  than  they  turn  upon  their  own  ;  and  ever 
hold  themselves  in  readiness,  by  "  righteous  in- 
dignation," intemperate  zeal,  and  wisdom  be- 
yond that  which  is  written,  to  do  battle  for  the 
Lord  with  weapons  he  has  forbidden  us  to  use, 
and  to  set  the  world  in  order  by  means  and 
principles  in  direct  opposition  to  his  laws. 

No  one  could  be  guilty  of  such  sins  who  pos- 


140  .      THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

sessed  a  discriminating  sense  of  right  and  wrong ; 
such  a  sense  as  is  derived  from  receiving  the 
teachings  of  the  Lord  in  simplicity  of  heart,  and 
never  presuming  to  set  aside  his  commandments 
in  order  to  place  our  own  in  their  stead.  His 
commands  to  refrain  from  doing  evil  are  explicit, 
and  without  reserve,  and  he  who  ventures  to  call 
in  question  their  universal  application  is  sharp- 
ening a  weapon  for  the  destruction  of  his  own 
soul. 

The  commands  of  the  Lord  are  infinite  prin- 
ciples, and  in  their  natural  and  simple  deduc- 
tions cover  all  the  acts  of  Life  having  any  moral 
bearing,  from  the  greatest  to  the  least ;  and  it , 
is  not  the  wisdom,  but  the  foolishness,  of  man, 
not  his  depth,  but  his  shallowness,  that  endeavors 
to  limit  their  significance  and  their  application. 
We  shall  find  that  our  vain  attempts  to  do  this 
occasion  almost  all  our  errors  of  judgment.  "  The 
testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making  wise  the 
simple,"  and  he  who  is  implicitly  guided  by  it 
can  alone  walk  surely  ;  for  he  only  has  an  unfail- 
ing guide  in  his  endeavors  to  distiniguish  accu- 
rately between  right  and  wrong. 

If  we  learn  to  discriminate  principles  wisely, 
our  next  step  is  to  apply  a  similar  action  of  the 
thoughts  to  persons  ;  and  here  again  it  is  to  the 
laws  of  absolute  good  and  evil  we  must  look  for 
light.  We  must  learn  to  respect  persons  for 
what  they  are,  and  not  for  their  position,  their 


LIFE.  141 

reputation,  or  their  worldly  possessions.  If  we 
are  really  aiming  to  train  our  own  characters  in 
accordance  with  the  laws  of  absolute  right,  we 
shall  be  likely  to  respect  in  others  the  attributes 
we  seek  in  our  own  persons.  In  all  other  efforts, 
there  is  too  often  envy  and  jealousy  among  those 
who  strive  ;  but  with  those  who  seek  true  excel- 
lence, whether  intellectual  or  moral,  for  its  own 
sake,  and  not  from  love  of  the  world,  there  is 
always  pure  brotherly  love ;  and  a  perpetual  de- 
light is  experienced  in  the  contemplation  of  ex- 
cellence wherever  it  is  found. 

In  our  estimate  of  the  relative  value  of  things, 
the  same  laws  are  called  into  action.  If  we 
would  value  them  aright,  we  shall  seek  first  those 
which  aid  us  in  improving  and  educating  our 
characters,  or  which  enlarge  our  powers  of  use- 
fulness, and  be  comparatively  indifferent  to  things 
which  are  external,  and  contribute  only  to  the 
pleasure  of  the  hour. 

True  discrimination  may  be  defined  as  the 
faculty  by  which  we  justly  estimate  the  value 
and  the  relations  of  principles,  of  persons,  and  of 
things  ;  and  so  far  as  we  attain  to  it,  the  power 
of  wise  Thought  is  ultimated  in  Life. 

Courage,  the  buoyant  child  of  Imagination,  is 
the  next  faculty  which  we  must  duly  cultivate,  if 
we  would  use  the  talents  God  has  bestowed 
upon  us  to  the  best  advantage.  It  is  common 
to  look  upon  courage  as  a  natural  endowment, 


14si  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHABACTER. 

and  few  persons  seem  to  be  aware  that  it  is  a 
moral  trait  we  are  bound  to  cultivate.  Yet 
when  we  consider  how  the  want  of  courage 
interferes  with  our  powers  of  usefulness,  we  can- 
not doubt  that  conscience  should  have  force  to 
make  brave  men  and  women  of  us  all.  In  the 
various  relations  of  life  there  is  nothing  that  so 
paralyzes  the  powers  as  fear.  They  who  are  the 
subjects  of  fear  are  slaves,  let  their  position  or 
their  endowments  be  what  they  may.  The  want 
of  courage  in  practical  life  brings  failure,  casu- 
alty, and  even  death,  in  its  train :  intellectually, 
it  robs  us  of  half  our  power ;  morally,  it  puts  us 
in  bondage  to  our  fellow-beings ;  and  religiously, 
it  leaves  us  without  hope. 

Hope  and  fear  are  alike  children  of  the  Imagi- 
nation ;  but  how  different  is  their  aspect !  Fear 
walks  through  the  world  with  abject  gait,  search- 
ing constantly  after  something  of  which  it  may 
be  afraid  ;  for,  like  all  the  other  faculties,  it  per- 
petually demands  food,  and  if  it  finds  it  not  in 
the  world  around,  imagines  it  in  the  world  within. 
Few  persons,  perhaps  none,  are  fearful  in  every 
department  of  life ;  but  almost  every  one  is  so  in 
some  particular  relations.  Just  so  far  as  we  suc- 
cumb to  fear,  we  lose  the  control  of  our  powers, 
and  lie  at  the  feet  of  circumstance  instead  of  co- 
operating with  it,  and  making  it  subserve  our 
benefit.  Hope,  on  the  contrary,  finds  cause  for 
joy  everywhere,  and  when  surrounded  by  gloom 


LIFE.  143 

sees,  in  imagination,  the  dawn  that  must  come 
even  after  the  blackest  night,  and  is  buoyed  up 
by  the  remembrance,  that,  though  "  sorrow  may 
endure  for  a  night,  joy  cometh  in  the  morning." 
Where  fear  sees  nothing  but  the  black  clouds  that 
threaten  coming  storms,  hope  looks  through  them 
to  the  bow  of  promise.  Hope  is  the  internal 
principle  of  true  courage.  St.  Paul,  in  his  beau- 
tiful description  of  charity,  tells  us  that  it  "  hopeth 
all  things  "  ;  and  we  may  easily  perceive  how  it 
must  be  so,  for  the  external  form  of  charity  is 
love  to  the  neighbor,  which  leads  us  to  hope  all 
things  for  our  fellow-beings  ;  while  its  internal 
form,  which  is  love  to  God,  must  lead  us  to  hope 
all  things  for  ourselves.  The  devils  believe  and 
tremble  because  they  hate  God ;  the  devout  be- 
lieve and  hope  because  they  love  him. 

Let  us  consider  courage  specially  in  its  four 
principal  relations,  —  physical,  intellectual,  moral, 
and  religious. 

Physical  courage,  —  the  courage  of  practical 
life,  —  though  it  seems  the  lowest  form  of  this 
virtue,  is  perhaps  quite  as  rare  as  either  of  the 
others.  There  is  abundance  of  fool-hardiness,  of 
brutal  rashness,  indifferent  to  all  consequences, 
in  the  world ;  but  very  little  of  that  calm,  self- 
possessed  courage  that  leaves  to  one  the  full  use  of 
his  faculties  in  the  midst  of  danger,  and  allows 
him  to  act  wisely,  even  when  meeting  death  face 
to  face.     The  only  sure  foundation  for  this  form 


144  THE   ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

of  courage  is  unshrinking  trust  in  the  overruling 
power  of  God, —  a  trust  that  shall  make  us  feel 
his  providence  ever  clasping  its  arms  about  us  in 
all  the  circumstances  of  life,  causing  us  ever  to 
bear  in  mind,  that  he  who  watches  the  fall  of  the 
sparrow  cannot  permit  us  to  perish  or  to  suffer 
by  chance.  This  trust  will  give  us  power  to 
meet  the  prospect  of  death  with  calmness,  let  it 
threaten  in  what  form  it  may,  whether  the  suin- 
mons  come  in  the  crash  of  the  shattered  car,  the 
bowlings  of  the  ocean-storm,  the  flash  of  the 
lightning,  or  the  quiet  of  our  own  chamber.  We 
shall  feel  that  the  hand  of  God  is  in,  or  over, 
them  all ;  and  when  danger  threatens,  our  facul- 
ties will  rather  be  quickened  than  diminished  by 
the  consciousness,  that,  in  times  of  emergency,  if 
we  look  to  him,  he  will  be  the  more  abounding 
in  pouring  his  grace  upon  us  to  supply  our  need. 
Calm,  self-possessed  courage  comes  to  us  the 
moment  we  lean  upon  God  for  strength ;  while 
we  are  rendered  helpless  by  fear,  or  rash  by  arro- 
gance, if  we  look  only  to  ourselves. 

There  are  those  who  would  feel  that  they 
were  passing  away  by  the  will  of  God,  if  disease 
came  to  them  with  slowly  wasting  hand,  and 
would  meet  his  will,  coming  in  that  form,  with 
meekness  and  patience ;  perhaps,  with  willing- 
ness :  and  yet  were  they  called  to  die  by  sudden 
casualty,  would  pass  into  eternity,  shrieking 
with  terror.     Much  of  this  fear  of  sudden  death 


LIFK.  145 

is  a*raere  physical  passion,  arising  from  a  mis- 
taken idea  that  there  must  be  great  pain  in  a 
death  by  violence ;  and  some  even,  in  spite  of 
the  direct  teaching  of  the  Lord  to  the  contrary, 
look  upon  such  a  death  as  a  manifestation  of  the 
wrath  of  God  against  the  individual.  Yet  there 
is,  in  fact,  much  less  suffering  in  most  deaths  by 
casualty  than  by  prolonged  disease ;  while  in 
many  such  there  is  probably  entire  freedom  from 
suffering.  The  mercy  of  God,  no  less  than  his 
power,  is  everywhere,  and  in  all  forms  of  death, 
no  less  than  in  life ;  and  were  our  love  for  him  as 
universal  as  his  for  us,  we  could  no  more  fear 
while  remembering  that  we  are  in  his  hands,  than 
the  infant  fears  while  clasped  to  its  mother's 
breast. 

The  possession  of  this  trust  in  God,  because  it 
makes  one  calm  in  all  positions  and  under  all 
emergencies,  is  the  surest  of  all  safeguards  against 
danger.  How  often,  in  the  shocking  records  of 
disaster  by  land  and  water,  is  the  lo^s  of  life 
directly  traceable  to  the  want  of  that  true  cour- 
age that  retains  self-possession  everywhere,  and 
under  all  circumstances,  giving  the  power  to 
ward  off  threatening  danger,  even  when  it  seems 
most  imminent  and  irresistible.  In  pestilence, 
the  terrified  are  the  first  to  fall  victims  to  the 
scourge,  while  none  walk  so  securely  as  those 
who  possess  their  souls  in  quietness. 

Intellectual  courage,  —  the  courage  of  thought, 
10 


146  THE   ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

—  comes  second  in  the  ascending  scale.  As 
physical  courage  gives  ns  the  ability  to  use  our 
faculties  with  the  same  freedom  in  the  most  im- 
minent danger  as  we  should  with  no  alarming 
circumstance  to  excite  us,  making  us  as  it  were 
to  rise  above  circumstance,  so  intellectual  cour- 
age gives  us  the  power  to  think  with  independ- 
ence, just  as  we  should  if  we  did  not  know  the 
opinion  of  another  human  being  upon  the  sub- 
ject which  engages  our  thoughts. 

Persons  having  an  humble  estimate  of  their 
own  abilities  are  apt  to  take  their  opinions,  with- 
out reserve,  from  those  whom  they  most  respect, 
without  making  any  effort  on  their  own  part  to 
judge  for  themselves  between  truth  and  falsehood. 
If  this  were  right,  it  would  take  all  responsibility 
in  relation  to  matters  of  thought  from  this  class 
of  persons ;  yet  every  human  being  must  be  re- 
sponsible for  the  opinions  he  holds.  We  cannot 
excuse  ourselves  by  saying  we  took  our  opinion 
from  another,  and  it  is  his  fault  if  it  be  false. 
Each  one  must  be  prepared  to  answer  for  his 
own  opinions,  just  as  he  must  be  responsible  for 
his  own  actions. 

Persons  of  a  combative  disposition  take  just 
the  opposite  course  from  this,  and  adopt  opin- 
ions merely  because  they  are  opposed  to  some  par- 
ticular person  or  to  some  class  of  persons.  Such 
persons  fancy  themselves  very  independent,  and 
announce  their   opinions   with  a  movement   of 


LIFE.  147 

the  head,  that  seems  to  say,  "  You  see  I  am 
afraid  of  nobody,  and  dare  to  think  for  myself." 
There  is,  however,  quite  as  little  independence  in 
adopting  an  opinion  because  somebody  else  does 
not  think  so,  as  in  accepting  it  because  he  does. 
Independence  of  thought  is  thinking  without  any 
undue  regard  to  the  opinion  of  any  one  else,  one 
way  or  the  other. 

A  third  class  of  persons,  having  large  love  of 
approbation,  is  very  numerous.  These  are  un- 
willing to  express  any  opinion  in  conversation 
until  they  have  ascertained  the  views  of  the  per- 
son they  address ;  cannot  tell  what  they  think  of 
a  book  until  they  know  what  the  critics  say ; 
and  seem  to  have  no  idea  of  truth  in  itself,  but 
look  merely  to  please  others  by  changing  their 
opinions  as  often  as  they  change  their  compan- 
ions. There  are  many  authors  of  this  class  who, 
in  writing,  strive  only  to  please  the  vanity  of  the 
jeader  by  presenting  him  with  a  reflection  of  his 
own  ideas ;  and  whose  constant  aim  is  to  follow 
public  opinion,  instead  of  leading  it.  They  do 
not  care  whether  the  ideas  they  promulgate 
are  true  or  false,  if  they  are  but  popular ;  and  if 
they  fail  to  please,  are  filled  with  chagrin,  and 
sometimes  have  even  died  of  despair. 

A  fourth  class  of  persons,  possessed  of  strong 
self-esteem,  arrive  at  independence  of  thought 
through  pride  of  intellect,  and  this  is  even  more 
dangerous  than  to  depend  upon  others  for  our 


148  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

opinions ;  for  of  all  idolatry,  there  is  none  so  in- 
terior and  hard  to  overcome  as  the  worship  of 
self.  If  we  would  arrive  at  truth  of  opinion,  we 
must  be  independent  of  our  own  passions  and 
prejudices  no  less  than  of  our  neighbor's.  There 
is  but  one  source  of  truth,  and  whoever  believes 
that  he  finds  it  elsewhere  is  an  idolater.  The 
Lord  has  declared,  "  I  am  the  way  and  the  truth 
and  the  life  "  ;  and  it  is  only  through  him  as  the 
way  that  we  can  find  the  truth,  and  we  seek  it 
through  him  when  we  love  it  because  he  is  the 
truth,  and  so  seek  it  for  its  own  absolute  beauty 
and  excellence,  desiring  to  bring  it  out  into  life. 

Look  where  we  may  along  the  pages  of  his- 
tory and  the  records  of  science,  it  is  the  devout 
men  who  have  been  the  successful  promulgaters 
of  new  ideas  and  searchers  after  truth.  The 
scoffer  and  the  infidel  make  great  boasts  of  their 
progress  through  their  independence  of  Scrip- 
ture ;  but  in  a  little  while  a  devout  man  follows 
in  their  footsteps  and  proves  that  their  deduc- 
tions are  false,  and  that  even  their  observations 
of  facts  were  not  to  be  trusted.  Scoffers  and 
infidels  come,  promising  to  set  the  world  in 
order  by  subverting  governments ;  but  though 
they  are  quick  to  pull  down,  they  have  no  power 
to  build  up;  and  it  is  only  when  the  devout  man 
comes,  that  the  reign  of  anarchy  and  misrule 
ceases. 

Common,  daily  life  is  the  epitome  of  history. 


LIFE.  149 

The  devout  man  is  the  only  one  whose  opinions 
are  trustworthy ;  and  just  so  far  as  we  become 
truly  devout  will  the  scales  that  hinder  us  from 
seeing  the  truth  fall  from  our  eyes.  "  If  the  eye 
be  single,"  looking  to  the  Lord  alone,  unbiassed 
in  its  gaze  by  the  thousand-fold  passions  of 
earth,  "  the  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  light." 

Moral  courage,  the  third  phase  of  this  virtue, 
is  that  faculty  of  the  soul  by  which  we  are  en- 
abled to  act,  in  all  the  social  relations  of  life, 
with  perfect  independence  of  the  opinions  of  the 
world,  and  governed  only  by  the  laws  of  abstract 
propriety,  uprightness,  and  charity.  It  gives  us 
power  to  say  and  to  do  whatever  we  conscien- 
ciously  believe  to  be  right  and  true,  without 
being  influenced  by  the  fear  of  man's  frown  or 
the  hope  of  his  favor.  This  is  very  difficult,  be- 
cause the  customs  and  conventionalisms  of  soci- 
ety hedge  us  about  so  closely  from  our'very  in- 
fancy, that  they  constrain  us  when  we  are  un- 
conscious of  it,  and  lead  us  to  act  and  to  refrain 
in  a  way  which  our  better  judgment  would  for- 
bid, did  we  consult  its  indications  without  being 
influenced  by  the  world. 

It  was  a  saying  of  a  wise  man,  that  "  he  who 
fears  God  can  fear  nothing  else";  and  there  is 
certainly  no  healthy  way  in  which  we  can  be  de- 
livered from  that  fear  of  the  world  which  destroys 
moral  courage,  but  the  learning  to  fear,  above  all 
things,  failing  to  fulfil  our  duty  before  God.     If 


150         THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

we  would  have  moral  courage,  we  must  accus- 
tom ourselves  to  feel  that  we  are  accountable  to 
God,  and  to  him  only,  for  what  we  do.  There 
is  a  spurious  moral  as  well  as  intellectual  cour- 
age, the  offspring  of  pride  and  arrogance,  that 
pretends  to  independence  in  a  spirit  of  defiance 
of  the  opinion  of  the  world  ;  but  this  will  never 
give  us  the  power  to  act  wisely,  for  wisdom  is 
ever  the  twin  sister  of  charity  that  loves  the 
neighbor  even  while  differing  from  him  in  opin- 
ion. True  courage  of  every  kind  is  perfectly 
self-possessed,  but  never  defiant.  A  spirit  of  de- 
fiance springs  from  envy  or  hate  if  it  be  honest, 
and  from  a  consciousness  of  inferiority  if  as- 
sumed ;  and  is  sometimes  only  a  disguise  self- 
assumed  by  fear,  when  it  seeks  to  be  unconscious 
of  itself.  True  .moral  courage  results  from  the 
hope  that  we  are  acting  in  harmony  with  the 
laws  of  eternal  wisdom.  Fear  of  every  kind  is 
annihilated  by  a  living  hope  that  the  Lord  is  on 
our  side. 

If  we  would  test  the  quality  of  our  moral 
courage,  we  must  ask  ourselves,  is  it  defiant?  is 
it  disdainful?  is  it  envious?  does  it  hate  its 
neighbor?  or  are  its  emotions  affected  in  any 
way  by  the  opinion  of  the  world  ?  If  we  can 
answer  all  these  questions  in  the  negative,  we 
must  go  a  step  farther,  and  ask  if  we  have  gained 
a  state  of  independence  of  our  own  selfish  pas- 
sions, as  well  as  of  the  world ;  for  our  most  in- 


LIFE.  151 

veterate  foes,  and  those  before  whom  we  cower 
most  abjectly,  are  often  those  that  dwell  within 
the  household  of  our  own  hearts.  If  the  fove  of 
ease  or  of  sensual  indulgence  rules  there,  we 
need  to  summon  our  moral  courage  to  a  stern 
strife,  for  there  is  no  conquest  more  difficult  than 
over  the  evil  affections  that  are  rooted  in  our 
sensual  nature.  "Wise  and  good  men  have  gone 
so  far  as  to  believe  that  this  conquest  is  never 
entire  in  this  world  ;  that  the  allurements  of  indo- 
lence and  the  gnawing  of  sensual  cravings  are 
never  quieted  save  when  the  body  perishes.  It 
is,  however,  difficult  to  believe  that  passions  exist 
in  the  body  apart  from  the  soul,  and  if  not,  there 
can  be  no  absolute  impossibility  of  conquest, 
even  in  this  world.  If  this  may  be  attained,  it 
must  be  through  the  building  up  of  a  true 
moral  courage,  that  shall  fight  believing  that  the 
sword  of  the  Lord  is  in  the  hand  of  him  who 
strives,  trusting  in  that  eternal  strength  which  is 
mighty  even  as  we  are  weak. 

Religious  courage  develof>es  naturally  in  pro- 
portion as  the  growth  of  moral  courage  becomes 
complete.  Fear  is  nowhere  so  distressing  as  in 
our  relations  with  our  Creator.  That  which  is 
by  nature  best  becomes  worst  when  it  is  per- 
verted ;  and  as  the  blessed  hope  to  which,  as 
children  of  God,  we  are  all  born  heirs,  is  in  its 
fulness  an  infinite  source  of  joy  and  blessing  to 
the  soul,  so  when  it  is  reversed  and  perverted  into 


152  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

fear,  it  becomes  the  source  of  unspeakable  mis- 
ery, sometimes  resulting  in  one  of  the  most 
wretched  forms  of  insanity. 

The  morbid  state  of  the  mind  which  induces 
this  distressing  passion  is  the  result  of  a  peculiar 
form  of  egotism,  which  leads  the  thoughts  to 
fasten  upon  one's  own  evils  so  entirely  that  the 
mind  ceases  to  recognize,  or  even  to  remember, 
the  long-suffering  patience  and  mercy  of  the 
Heavenly  Father.  A  more  common,  but  less 
painful  form  of  this  fear  is  the  result  of  vague- 
ness in  one's  ideas  of  the  Divine  character  and 
attributes.  The  clear  and  rational  views  which 
Swedenborg  has  given  of  the  Divine  Providence 
is  undoubtedly  the  reason  why  religious  melan- 
choly is  almost  never  found  among  the  members 
of  the  New  Church.  The  peace  in  believing, 
which  is  almost  universal  among  this  class  of 
Christians,  is  a  subject  of  remark  among  those 
who  observe  them,  wherever  they  are  found ;  and 
this  arises,  not  merely  from  their  not  looking 
upon  God  as  an  enemy  and  avenger  who  de- 
mands a  perfect  fulfilment  of  the  letter  of  the 
law,  or  infinite  punishment  for  sin,  either  person- 
ally or  by  an  atoning  Saviour ;  but  from  the  pos- 
session of  a  distinct  idea,  imaged  in  their  minds, 
of  the  nature  and  the  quality  of  the  Divine  Provi- 
dence. Where  there  is  a  tendency  to  any  kind 
of  fear,  nothing  increases  it  more  than  the  want 
of  a  distinct  idea  of  the  thing  or  person  feared; 


LIFE.  153 

because  the  Imagination,  which  is  always  quick 
with  the  timid,  is  almost  sure  to  create  some- 
thing within  the  mind  far  more  fearful  than  any- 
thing that  really  exists.  The  greatest  boon  man- 
kind ever  received  through  a  brother  man  was 
the  doctrine  first  promulgated  by  Swedenborg, 
that  God  has  respect  even  to  our  good  inten- 
tions ;  and  that  he  casts  out  none  who  sincerely 
desire  to  be  of  his  kingdom.  If  one  distinctly  be- 
lieves this  doctrine,  there  is  no  rational  ground 
in  the  mind  for  fear;  because  the  very  fact  of  our 
desire  for  salvation  —  provided  we  understand 
salvation  to  be  a  state  of  the  mind,  and  not  a 
mere  position  in  a  certain  place,  —  or  something 
pertaining  to  our  internal,  and,  not  to  our  ex- 
ternal, nature  —  makes  it  impossible  that  we 
should  fail  of  attaining  it. 

If  one  is  oppressed  with  religious  fear,  the 
way  to  escape  from  it  is  to  use  every  endeavor 
to  attain  a  clear  and  distinct  idea  of  the  Divine 
character,  and  to  strive  to  bring  one's  self  into 
harmony  with  it;  —  to  think  as  little  as  possible 
about  one's  own  sins,  and  to  train  the  thoughts 
to  dwell  upon  the  Divine  perfections,  and  culti- 
vate an  ardent  desire  to  imitate  them.  It  is 
necessary  to  think  of  one's  self  enough  to  refrain 
from  the  commission  of  external  sins,  and  just  so 
far  and  so  fast  as  w^e  put  away  sin,  the  Lord 
will  implant  the  opposite  virtue  in  its  place,  pro- 
vided we  put  the  sin  away  from  love  to  him, 


154  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

and  not  from  any  selfish  or  worldly  motive. 
This  state  of  active  cooperation  with  the  Lord  is 
something  very  different  from  that  into  which 
one  falls  who  is  the  subject  of  religious  fear,  and 
cannot  exist  in  company  with  it.  The  religious 
coward  can  only  overcome  his  fear  by  remember- 
ing that  God  is  not  a  tyrant  who  demands  im- 
possibilities of  his  slaves,  but  a  Father  of  infinite 
love,  who  would  make  his  children  eternally 
happy ;  and  who,  in  order  that  they  may  become 
so,  gives  them  every  means  and  every  aid  that 
they  will  receive.  He  must  not  suffer  his  heart 
to  sink  within  him  by  thinking  of  his  own  weak- 
ness, but  must  elevate  it  by  thinking  of  the  in- 
finite power  of  him  who  has  called  us  to  salva- 
tion. Above  all  things,  he  must  not  fall  into  rev- 
eries about  himself,  but  seek  to  forget  self  in  the 
active  performance  of  duty. 

The  performance  of  duty,  the  fulfiling  of  use, 
which,  rightly  understood,  is  the  universal  pana- 
cea against  all  the  troubles  and  sorrows  of  this 
life,  is  too  often  a  fearful  bugbear  in  the  eyes 
of  those  who  understand  it  not.  This  subject, 
however,  brings  us  to  the  third  and  last  topic  to 
be  discussed  under  the  head  of  Life.  The  love 
of  duty,  to  be  effectual  or  real,  must  be  earnest ; 
for  earnestness  is  the  certain  result  of  living 
Affection.  Through  this,  all  our  other  powers 
and  faculties  ultimate  themselves  in  external 
Life.     Earnestness  is  the  exact  opposite  of  indo- 


LIFE.  155 

• 

lence.  It  is  the  external  motive  power,  just  as 
Affection  is  the  internal  motive  power,  —  the 
body,  of  which  Affection  is  the  soul.  With- 
out earnestness,  all  our  other  powers  come  to 
naught,  and  we  live  in  vain  ;  with  it,  our  other 
endowments  become  alive,  and  ready  to  impress 
themselves  upon  the  external  world.  Indolence 
is  a  rust,  corroding  and  dulling  all  our  facul- 
ties; earnestness,  a  vitalizing  force,  quickening 
and  brightening  them.  By  earnestness,  alone, 
can  we  climb  upward  in  that  progress  which,  be- 
gun in  time,  pauses  not  at  the  grave,  but  passing 
through  the  portal  of  death,  goes  eternally  on  in 
the  same  direction  which  we  chose  for  ourselves 
here,  ever  approaching  more  nearly  to  the  Divine 
perfection,  whose  life  is  the  unresting  activity 
of  infinite  love.  By  indolence,  we  sink  ever 
lower  and  lower,  and  through  a  continuous  pro- 
cess of  deterioration,  grow  each  day  more  unfit 
for  the  heavenly  life,  which  all  but  the  aban- 
doned, and  perhaps  even  they,  fancy  they  desire, 
even  when  refusing  to  use  any  of  the  means 
whereby  it  may  be  gained. 

In  the  circle  of  man's  evil  propensities,  no  one, 
perhaps,  is  a  more  fruitful  mother  of  wretched- 
ness and  crime  than  the  propensity  to  idolence.  It 
is  a  common  saying,  that  the  love  of  money  is  the 
root  of  all  evil ;  but  that  root  often  runs  deeper, 
and  finds  its  life  in  indolence,  which  incites 
those  under  its  dominion  to  seek  money  through 


156  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHABACTER. 

unlawful  means.'  The  desire  for  money  impels 
most  men  to  constant  effort,  and  there  is  no  rea- 
son for  attributing  a  stronger  desire  to  him  who 
steals  or  defrauds  than  to  him  who  labors  stead- 
fastly, every  day  of  his  life,  from  early  dawn  to 
eve;  yet  we  praise  the  latter,  and  condemn  the 
former.  It  is  not,  then,  the  love  of  money  that 
we  condemn,  but  the  desire  to  attain  it  by  vicious 
means;  and  such  desire  results  from  a  hatred 
for  labor,  which  is  the  only  legitimate  means  by 
which  it  may  be  gained.  Money  in  itself  is  but 
dead  matter,  serving  only  as  a,.minister  to  some 
end  beyond ;  and  the  simple  desire  for  it  is 
neither  good  nor  bad  :  the  end  for  which  it  is  de- 
sired elevates  the  desire  itself  to  a  virtue,  or  de- 
grades it  to  a  vice ;  and  the  means  which  we 
adopt  for  obtaining  it,  and  the  purposes  to  which 
we  apply  it,  make  it  either  a  blessing  or  a  curse. 

Every  possession,  whether  moral,  intellectual, 
or  physical,  is  the  legitimate  reward  of  labor 
wisely  and  earnestly  applied  ;  and  for  these  re- 
wards the  virtuous  are  content  to  labor  without 
repining,  and  to  them,  not  only  the  rewards,  but 
the  labor  itself,  is  blessed.  The  vicious,  on  the 
contrary,  desire  the  rewards,  but  hate  the  labor 
by  which  they  should  be  gained.  They,  there- 
fore, accordingly  as  they  belong  to  different 
classes  of  society,  simulate  virtues  which  they  do 
not  possess,  pretend  to  acquirements  they  have 
been  too  idle  to  gain,  or  strive  after  wealth  by 


LIFE.  157 

any  means,  rather  than  patient  industry  and  hon- 
est effort. 

It  is  not  the  vicious  alone  who  fail  to  perceive 
that  labor  is  a  blessing  from  which  a  wise  man 
can  never  fly.  The  curse  applied  to  Adam,  "  In 
the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread,"  has 
led  many  to  suppose  that  originally  the  wants 
of  the  human  race  were  supplied  without  any  ex- 
ertion of  its  own,  —  that  in  the  garden  of  Eden 
there  was  enjoyment  without  effort,  possession 
without  labor.  Even  in  the  pulpit,  labor  is  some- 
times spoken  of  as  a  curse  pertaining  only  to 
life  in  this  world,  from  which  we  shall  be  deliv- 
ered in  the  life  to  come.  Nothing  can  be  farther 
from  the  truth.  Employment  is  the  life  of  every 
soul,  from  the  Most  High  down  to  the  least  of 
his  children.  They  only  who  are  spiritually 
dead,  or  sleeping,  ask  for  idleness.  It  is  man 
fallen  who  looks  on  labor  as  a  curse,  not  man 
walking  with  God  in  the  garden  of  Eden ;  and 
to  man,  when  he  has  fallen,  labor  is  indeed  a 
curse,  for  his  soul  is  so  perverted  that  he  knows 
not  the  true  nature  and  qualities  of  a  blessing. 

Man,  resting  in  thought  or  feeling,  is  at  best 
a  useless  abstraction ;  he  becomes  truly  a  man 
only  when  his  thoughts  and  feelings  come  forth 
into  life,  and  impress  themselves  on  outward 
things.  If  he  fail  to  do  this,  the  rust  of  idleness 
eats  into  all  his  powers,  till  he  becomes  a  useless 
cumberer  of  the  ground ;    the  world  loses,   and 


158        THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

heaven  gains  nothing  when  this  mortal  puts  on 
immortality.  Such  a  being  is  dead  while  he 
lives,  —  a  moral  paralytic.  His  capacities  are  as 
seed  cast  upon  a  rock  where  there  is  no  earth. 

God  works  incessantly.  His  eye  knows  no 
closing,  his  hand  no  weariness.  The  universe 
was  not  only  built  by  his  power,  but  is  sustained 
every  moment  by  his  inflowing  life.  If  he  were 
to  turn  from  it  for  a  single  instant,  all  things 
would  return  to  chaos.  Man,  created  in  the 
image  and  likeness  of  God,  resembles  him  most 
nearly  when  the  life  influent  from  God  which  fills 
his  soul,  flows  forth  freely  as  it  is  given,  quicken- 
ing with  its  powers  all  that  comes  within  the  in- 
fluence of  his  sphere. 

There  is  an  old  proverb  that  tells  us,  "  Idleness 
is  the  devil's  pillow "  ;  and  well  may  it  be  so 
esteemed,  for  no  bead  ever  rested  long  upon  it, 
but  the  lips  of  the  evil  spirit  were  at  its  ear, 
breathing  falsehood  and  temptation.  The  in- 
dustrious man  is  seldom  found  guilty  of  a  crime; 
for  he  has  no  time  to  listen  to  the  enticings  of 
the  wicked  one,  and  he  is  content  with  the  enjoy- 
ments honest  effort  affords.  It  is  the  vicious 
idler,  vexed  to  see  the  fortunes  of  his  industrious 
neighbor  growing  while  he  is  lounging  and  mur- 
muring, who  robs  and  murders  that  he  may  get 
unlawful  gain.  It  is  the  merry,  thoughtless  idler 
who,  to  relieve  the  nothingness  of  his  days,  seeks 
the  excitement  of  the  wine-cup  and  the  gaming- 


LIFE.  159 

table.  It  is  the  sensual  idler,  whose  licentious 
ear  is  open  to  the  voice  of  the  tempter  as  often 
as  his  track  crosses  the  pathway  of  youth  and 
innocence. 

Not  only  by  reason  of  the  external,  palpable 
rewards  which  labor  brings  is  it  to  be  considered 
a  blessing ;  but  every  hour  of  patient  labor, 
whether  with  the  hands,  or  in  study,  or  thought, 
brings  with  it  its  own  priceless  reward,  in  its  di- 
rect effects  upon  the  Character.  By  it  the  facul- 
ties are  developed,  the  powers  strengthened,  and 
the  whole  being  brought  into  a  state  of  order ; 
provided  we  do  all  things  for  the  glory  of  God. 
"  But,"  exclaims  the  impatient  heart,  wearied 
with  the  cares  of  daily  life,  "  how  can  all  this 
labor  for  the  preservation  and  comfort  of  the 
merely  mortal  body,  this  study  of  things  which 
belong  merely  to  the  material  world,  subserve  in 
any  w^ay  the  glory  of  God  ?  "  It  is  by  these  very 
toils,  worthless  and  transitory  as  they  may  seem, 
that  the  Character  is  built  up  for  eternity ;  and  so 
to  build  up  Character  is  the  whole  end  for  which 
the  things  of  time  were  created.  No  matter  how 
small  the  duty  intrusted  to  our  performance,  by 
performing  it  to  the  best  of  our  abilities  we  are 
fitting  ourselves  to  be  rulers  over  many  things, — 
to  hear  the  blessed  proclamation,  "  Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servant;  enter  thou  into  the 
joy  of  thy  Lord." 

We  are  prone,  at  times,  to  feel  as  though  we 


160  THE    ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

were  not  placed  in  the  right  niche;  and  that,  if  we 
were  differently  situated,  and  occupied  with  em- 
ployments more  worthy  our  capacities,  we  should 
work  with  pleasure  and  assiduity ;  but  our  pres- 
ent duties  are  so  much  beneath  us,  it  seems  de- 
grading to  spend  our  time  and  thoughts  upon 
them.  Here  is  a  radical  error  of  judgment,  for  it 
is  not  a  high  or  low  duty  that  degrades  or  ele- 
vates man,  but  the  performing  any  duty  well  or 
ill.  It  is  as  true  as  it  is  trite,  that  the  honor  or 
shame  lies  in  the  mode  of  performance,  not  in  the 
quality  of  the  duty.  We  all,  perhaps,  know  and 
say,  and  yet  need  to  be  reminded,  that  a  bad 
president  stands  lower  in  the  scale  of  being  than 
a  good  town  officer ;  a  wicked  statesman,  let 
him  occupy  what  social  position  he  may,  fills  a 
lower  place  than  a  conscientious  slave  who 
faithfully  fulfils  the  duties  of  his  station. 

The  first  Church,  represented  by  Adam,  fell  be- 
cause it  ceased  to  look  to  the  Lord  as  the  source 
of  all  life  and  light,  and  looked  only  to  itself  for 
all  things.  It  thus  lost  all  conception  of  the 
legitimate  aim  of  life.  Seeking  only  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  present  moment,  labor  seemed  a  dire 
calamity;  for  the  eternal  end  of  labor,  that  is, 
the  development  of  the  powers  of  the  soul,  so  as 
best  to  fit  it  for  the  performance  of  heavenly 
uses,  passed  out  of  the  knowledge  of  man,  and 
he  learned  to  look  forward  to  heaven  as  a  place 
of  idle   enjoyment;   toiling   sorrowfully  through 


LIFE.  161 

this  world,  in  the  sweat  of  his  face,  for  bread  that, 
when  attained,  gave  him  no  true  life.  To  eat 
bread  in  the  sweat  of  the  face  signifies  by  cor- 
respondences, to  receive  and  appropriate  as  good 
only  that  which  self  may  call  self-produced  and 
self-owned ;  and  to  turn  away  with  aversion  from 
that  which  is  heavenly.  This  is  precisely  what 
we  all  do  when  we  shrink  from,  or  despise,  any 
labor  which  duty  demands  at  our  hands.  The 
Lord  places  us  in  that  position  in  life  which  is 
best  adapted  to  overcome  the  evil  dispositions  of 
our  nature,  and  to  cultivate  our  souls  for  heaven. 
Perhaps  we  have  capacities  that  would  enable 
us  to  perform  duties  that  would  be  considered 
by  the  world  of  a  higher  character ;  but  perhaps, 
on  the  other  hand,  we  have  vices  that  the  Lord  is 
striving  to  overcome  by  placing  us  in  this  very 
position  which  so  frets  and  disgusts  us.  If  we 
will  but  remember  that  the  mercy  and  love  of 
the  Lord  strive  to  bless  us  by  fitting  us  for 
heaven,  and  not  by  making  us  eminent  in  the 
eyes  of  men,  we  shall  probably  find  it  much 
easier  to  comprehend  why  we  are  placed  as  we 
are  in  this  world.  When  we  torment  ourselves 
by  thinking  of  the  inappropriateness  of  our  posi- 
tion in  this  world,  we  are  always  viewing  our 
position  with  regard  to  this  world  only,  and 
therefore  all  things  are  dark  to  us.  When  we 
look  humbly  to  the  Lord,  and  seek  to  find  out 
the  eternal  ends  of  his  providence  in  the  circum- 
11 


163        THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHAKACTEK. 

stances  of  our  lives,  gradually  the  scales  pass 
from  our  eyes,  and  at  last  we  go  in  peace,  seeing. 
Beside  the  education  of  our  powers  and  facul- 
ties, employment  is  a  blessing  in  helping  us  to 
bear  the  severest  trials  of  this  life.  When  be- 
reavement or  disappointment  overwhelms  the 
soul  with  anguish,  so  that  this  world  seems  only 
the  dark  habitation  of  despair;  when  we  cannot 
see  the  bow  of  promise  in  the  black  cloud  that 
darkens  our  horizon ;  when  we  feel  that  we  are 
without  God  in  the  world, —  and  there  are  few  if 
any  human  beings  who  have  not  found  them- 
selves at  some  time  in  such  a  state, — then,  as 
we  hope  by  the  grace  of  God  ever  to  escape  from 
this  despair,  we  should  fly  idleness  as  we  would 
fly  the  dagger  or  the  poisoned  cup ;  and  though 
grief  be  tugging  at  the  heart-strings,  though  our 
eyes  are  blinded  with  tears,  we  should  set  our- 
selves diligently  about  doing  something  that  may 
help  to  make  others  happy,  and  let  no  duty  go 
unperformed;  and  it  will  not  be  long  ere  the 
dimmed  eyes  shall  begin  to  see  the  glow  of  the 
sunshine  above,  and  the  earth  radiant  with  beau- 
ty below ;  while,  so  far  from  being  deserted  of 
God,  we  shall  feel  that  sorrow  has  brought  us 
more  distinctly  than  ever  before  into  his  pres- 
ence. 

"  The  path  of  sorrow,  and  that  path  alone, 
Leads  to  the  land  where  sorrow  is  unknown." 

What  are  the   employments   of    heaven  we 


LIFE.  163 

cannot  know  with  any  particularity.  Sweden- 
borg  tells  us  that  the  angels  are  constantly  per- 
forming uses;  but  what  these  uses  are  we  are 
not  distinctly  told.  We  know  that  they  corre- 
spond in  some  way  to  the  employments  of  earth  ; 
but  really  to  understand  them  probably  tran- 
scends our  capacities  while  we  remain  in  the 
flesh.  The  conscientious  performance  of  the 
material  and  finite  uses  of  this  life  is  the  only 
means  by  which  we  can  prepare  ourselves  for  the 
spiritual  and  eternal  uses  pertaining  to  the  heav- 
enly kingdom ;  uses  which  probably  serve  to 
comfort,  nourish,  and  strengthen  the  soul  in  eter- 
nity, as  on  earth  the  corresponding  uses  serve  the 
wants  of  the  body. 

In  the  spiritual  world  the  spiritual  body  is  fed, 
clothed,  and  sheltered  in  much  the  same  way, 
to  appearance,  as  is  the  material  body  in  the 
natural  world ;  but  all  the  surroundings  of  the 
spirit  correspond  to  the  state  of  each  individual 
being,  and  are  the  direct  gift  of  the  Lord.  All 
the  arts  and  trades  of  this  life  do  not  exist 
in  the  other,  but  as  these  arts  and  trades,  as 
well  as  everything  else  in  this  world,  exist  only 
through  their  correspondence  with  something  in 
the  other  world,  it  follows  that  all  the  occupa- 
tions of  this  life  have  not  similar,  but  correspond- 
ing, occupations  in  the  other.  The  end  of  life  in 
this  world  is  to  fit  the  soul  for  entering  upon  the 
heavenly  life,  and  the  end  of  life  in  heaven  is 


164        THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

perpetual  advancement  in  spiritual  graces  and 
perfections ;  for  no  angel,  even  in  the  highest 
heavens,  has  reached  a  degree  of  perfection  so 
high  that  he  can  go  no  further.  The  end  of 
heavenly  life  thus  being  infinite,  the  effort  and 
employment  of  that  life  must  be  ceaseless.  In 
speaking  of  ceaseless  effort,  it  must  not  be  under- 
stood that  this  resembles  at  all  the  wearying 
labor  of  a  slave,  or  that  there  is  anything  oppres- 
sive or  forced  about  its  performance ;  for  this 
could  only  be  anticipated  with  dread.  Heavenly 
employment  must  be  full  of  life  and  joy,  bearing 
us  upward  like  the  wings  of  a  skylark,  as  he 
bathes  in  the  sunlight  of  the  upper  ether,  and 
carols  forth  his  joy.  There  will  undoubtedly  be 
a  variety,  too,  in  heavenly  employment,  corre- 
sponding with  our  varying  states,  and  making 
tedium  impossible.  This  may  be  illustrated  by 
imagining  what  would  be  a  perfect  mode  of 
spending  a  day  in  this  world.  We  wake  in  the 
morning  refreshed  by  repose,  and  as  we  look 
forth  at  the  sun  our  spirits  rejoice  in  the  beauty 
of  the  wakening  day,  and  rise  toward  the  heav- 
enly throne  in  prayer  and  praise.  We  set  about 
the  performance  of  our  daily  duties,  and  Chris- 
tian charity  toward  those  for  whose  happiness 
or  benefit,  whether  physical  or  intellectual,  we 
exert  our  powers,  makes  us  faithful  in  whatever 
we  do,  that  it  may  be  done  to  the  best  of  our 
ability;  and   our  effort  is  lightened  by  the  con- 


LIFE.  165 

sciousness  of  duty  done  from  pure  and  upright 
motives.  If  we  go  forth  for  refreshment,  com- 
munion with  nature  and  the  God  of  nature  fills 
our  souls  with  peace,  while  the  fresh  air  gives 
new  life  to  the  frame.  When  the  duties  of  the 
day  are  over,  and  the  family  circle  collects  around 
the  evening  lamp,  reading  or  conversation  awakes 
the  powers  of  the  heart  and  the  intellect,  and 
draws  more  closely  the  bonds  of  the  domestic 
aifections.  "We  retire  for  the  night,  and  ere  com- 
posing ourselves  to  sleep,  we  collect  our  thoughts, 
reflect  upon  the  events  of  the  day,  examining 
what  we  have  done  well  or  ill,  and  prepare  by 
wise  resolutions  for  future  effort.  We  slumber, 
and  the  repose  of  all  our  powers  renews  our 
strength  for  the  coming  morrow.  Through  the 
whole  of  this  twenty-four  hours,  employment  has 
been  constant.  There  has  been  labor  of  the 
hands,  labor  of  the  head,  conversation,  thought, 
prayer,  sleep.  Every  part  of  the  being  has  been 
called  into  exercise ;  there  has  been  no  weariness 
from  labor,  and  no  idleness ;  but  every  moment 
of  this  whole  day  has  added  its  quota  towards 
promoting  the  growth  of  the  whole  being ;  and 
this  is  a  heavenly  day.  The  more  perfectly  we 
can  make  the  occupations  of  our  days  thus  com- 
bine for  the  growth  of  our  being,  the  better  we 
are  preparing  ourselves  for  the  days  of  heaven. 

As  the  progress  of  the  heavenly  life  will  be  in- 
finite, the  wants  of  our  spiritual  natures  must 


166         THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTEK. 

likewise  be  infinite.  The  heavenly  life  must  be 
a  life  of  charity,  —  a  life  in  which  every  soul  will 
strive  to  aid  every  other  to  the  utmost ;  and  the 
charities  of  heaven  must  strengthen  and  comfort 
the  soul  in  a  manner  corresponding  to  the  aid 
material  charities  effect  in  this  world.  Let  it 
constantly  be  borne  in  mind,  that  charities  are 
duties  well  performed,  of  whatever  kind  they 
may  be,  —  as  well  the  faithful  fulfilment  of  an 
avocation  as  the  aiding  of  a  suffering  fellow- 
being.  Charity  is  but  another  name  for  duty,  or 
rather  duty  becomes  charity  when  we  perform  it 
from  genuine  love  to  the  Lord  and  to  the  neigh- 
bor; and  whoever  leads  a  life  of  charity  in  this 
world  is  fitting  himself  to  perform  the  higher 
charities  that  will  be  required  of  him  in  heaven. 
The  true  end  and  highest  reward  of  labor  is 
spiritual  growth ;  and  such  growth  brings  with  it 
the  most  exalted  happiness  we  are  capable  of 
attaining.  This  happiness  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  within  us  ;  and  it  is  the  certain  and  un- 
failing reward,  or  rather  consequence,  of  a  life  of 
true  charity.  It  is  not  difficult,  by  intellectual 
thought,  to  perceive  the  truth  of  this  doctrine ; 
but  this  is  not  enough.  We  must  elevate  our 
hearts  into  a  wisdom  that  shall  make  us  not  only 
perceive,  but  feel  and  love  this  truth.  Until  we 
can  do  this,  we  do  not  truly  believe,  though  we 
may  think  we  do.  If  we  fret  and  murmur  ;  if  we 
are  impatient  and  unfaithful;  if,  when  we  plainly 


LIFE.  167 

see  that  our  duty  lies  in  one  path,  we  yet  long  to 
follow  another;  if  we  know  that  we  cannot  leave 
our  present  position  without  dereliction  from 
right,  and  yet  hate  or  despise  the  place  in  which 
we  are;  if  we  repine  because  God  does  not  give 
us  the  earthly  rewards  we  fancy  we  deserve, 
though  we  well  know  ne  promises  only  heavenly 
ones;  if  we  do  habitually  any  or  all  of  these 
things,  we  may  know  that  our  faith  is  of  the  lip, 
and  not  of  the  heart,  — that  the  life  of  charity  is 
not  yet  begun  within  us.  Such  repinings,  such 
cravings  as  these  do  not  belong  nor  lead  to  the 
heavenly  kingdom. 

He  who  thinks  wisely  can  never  live  a  life  of 
idleness,  and  where  there  is  excessive  indolence 
of  the  body  there  is  never  healthy  action  of  the 
mind.  A  life  of  use  is  a  life  of  holiness ;  and  a 
life  of  idleness  is  a  life  of  sin.  He  who  performs 
no  social  use,  who  makes  no  human  being  hap- 
pier or  better,  is  leading  a  life  of  utter  selfishness; 
is  walking  in  a  way  that  ends  in  spiritual  death. 
In  the  parable  of  the  sheep  and  the  goats,  the 
King  condemns  those  on  the  left  hand,  not  be- 
cause they  have  done  that  which  was  wrong, 
but  because  they  have  omitted  doing  that  which 
was  right. 

No. human  being  in  possession  of  his  mental 
faculties  is  so  incompetent  that  he  can  do  noth- 
ing for  the  benefit  of  those  around  him.  One 
prostrate  on  a  bed  of  sickness  might  seem,  at 


168  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHAEACTER.      . 

first  glance,  incapable  of  performing  any  use; 
and  yet,  not  unfrequently,  what  high  and  holy 
lessons  of  patient  faith,  of  unwavering  piety,  are 
taught  by  such  a  being, —  lessons  that  can  never 
die  out  from  the  memory  of  those  who  minister 
at  the  couch  of  suffering.  When  the  body  lies 
powerless,  and  the  hand  has  lost  its  cunning, 
when  even  the  tongue  is  palsied  in  death,  how 
often  has  the  eye,  still  faithful  to  the  heavenly 
Master,  by  a  glance  of  holy  peace  performed  the 
last  act  of  charity  to  the  bereaved  ones  whom  it 
looks  upon  with  the  eye  of  flesh  for  the  last  time. 
So  long  as  life  remains  to  us  our  duties  are  un- 
finished :  God  yet  desires  our  service  on  earth, 
and  while  he  desires  let  us  not  doubt  our  capa- 
city to  serve.  Even  for  one  in  the  solitude  of  a 
prison-cell,  when  acts  of  charity  become  impos- 
sible, the  duty  of  labor  is  not  taken  away.  ■  One 
may  still  work  for  the  Father  in  Heaven,  though 
sitting  in  darkness,  and  with  manacled  limbs. 
To  possess  the  soul  in  patience,  to  be  meek,  for- 
giving, and  pious,  are  duties  amply  sufficient  to 
tax  the  powers  of  the  strongest.  There  is  no 
room  for  idleness  even  here. 

To  work  is  not  only  a  duty,  but  a  necessity  of 
our  nature,  and  when  we  fancy  ourselves  idle,  we 
are  in  fact  working  for  one  whose  wages  is 
death.  The  question  is  never,  Shall  we  work? 
but,  For  whom  shall  we  work  ?  Whom  shall  we 
choose  for  our  mastei:?  and  our  happiness  here 


LIFE.  169 

and  hereafter  must  depend  on  the  answer  we 
give  to  this  question.  We  may  not  deliberately 
put  and  deliberately  reply  to  this  question  in 
stated  words ;  but  our  whole  lives  answer  it  in 
one  long-continued  period.  Those  who  labor 
steadfastly,  with  no  end  in  view  but  the  acquisi- 
tion of  worldly,  perishable  advantages,  answer  it 
fearfully ;  but  theirs  is  not.  a  more  desperate  re- 
ply than  comes  from  the  idler  and  the  slothful. 
Wherever  there  is  activity  and  force  there  is 
hope  ;  for  though  now  flowing  in  a  wrong  direc- 
tion, the  stream  may  yet  be  diverted  into  channels 
that  shall  lead  to  eternal  life.  Where  there  is  no 
activity,  where  all  the  faculties  of  the  soul  are 
sunk  in  the  lethargy  of  indifference,  as  well  may 
one  hope  to  find  living  fountains  gushing  forth 
into  fertilizing  streams  amid  the  sands  of  the 
African  desert.  The  man  of  science  tells  us  that 
living  springs  exist  beneath  these  sands,  and  that 
artesian  wells  might  bring  them  to  the  surface ; 
and  so  in  the  inmost  nature  of  man,  however 
degraded  he  may  be,  Swedenborg  tells  us  there 
is  a  shrine  that  cannot  be  defiled,  through  which 
heavenly  influences  may  come  down  into  his  life, 
and  yet  save  him,  if  he  will  receive  them  ere  he 
passes  from  this  world ;  but  when  sloth  has  be- 
come habitual  and  confirmed,  there  is  almost  as 
little  room  for  hope  that  this  will  ever  take  place 
as  that  artesian  tubes  will  ever  make  the  Saha- 
ran  desert  a  region  of  fertility. 


170  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTEK. 

The  kingdom  of  fevil  is  readily  attained.  We 
have  but  to  follow  the  allurements  of  tlie  pas- 
sions, and  we  shall  surely  find  it ;  we  have  but  to 
fold  our  hands,  and  it  will  come  to  us.  With  the 
kingdom  of  eternal  life  it  is  not  so.  That  is  a 
prize  not  easily  won.  Faithful,  untiring  effort, 
looking  ever  toward  eternal  ends;  a  constant 
scrutiny  of  motives,  that  they  may  be  pure  and 
true ;  an  earnest,  heartfelt,  determined  devotion 
to  the  heavenly  Master,  to  whose  service  we 
have  bound  ourselves  by  deliberate  choice,  can 
alone  make  sure  for  us  what  we  seek.  For  a 
long  time  this  may  require  labor  almost  painful, 
but  if  we  persevere,  our  affections  will  gradually 
become  at  one  with  our  faith,  the  heavenly  life 
will  become  habitual,  so  as  to  be  almost  instinc- 
tive; and  when  the  celestial  kingdom  is  thus 
established  within  us,  no  place  will  be  left  for 
weariness,  or  doubt,  or  pain,  or  fear. 


CONYERSATION. 


"He  who  sedulously  attends,  pointedly  asks,  calmly  speaks,  cooUy  answers, 
and  ceases  when  he  has  no  more  to  say,  is  in  possession  of  some  of  the  b«at 
requisites  of  man."  —  Lavater. 

"  The  common  fluency  of  speech,  in  many  men,  and  most  women,  is  owing 
to  a  scarcity  of  matter  and  a  scarcity  of  words ;  for  whoever  is  master  of  a  lan- 
guage, and  has  a  mind  full  of  ideas,  will  be  apt,  in  speaking,  to  hesitate  upon  the 
choice  of  both ;  whereas,  common  si)eakers  have  only  one  set  of  ideas,  and  one 
set  of  words  to  clothe  them  in ;  and  these  are  always  ready  at  the  mouth ;  so 
people  can  come  faster  out  of  a  church  when  it  is  almost  empty,  than  when  a 
crowd  is  at  the  door."  —  Swift. 


Of  all  the  physical  powers  possessed  by  man, 
there  is  none  so  noble  as  that  of  speech ;  none 
that  distinguishes  him  so  entirely  from  the  brute ; 
yet  how  few  there  are  who  seem  in  any  adequate 
degree  to  comprehend  its  power  and  value,  or 
who  ever  pause  to  reflect  upon  the  sacrilegious 
abuse  to  which  it  is  often  degraded. 

Language  is  Thought  and  Affection  in  form,  as 
works  are  Thought  and  Affection  in  life.  By  lan- 
guage we  receive  the  word  of  Divine  Revelation, 
and  by  language  we  approach  the  Divine  Author 
of  all  things  in  prayer.     By  language  we  are 


172  THE   ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

made  happy  in  social  life,  through  interchange  of 
thought  and  feeling  with  our  fellow-beings.  By 
language,  man  is  made  lord  of  the  terrestrial 
world.  By  language,  the  wisdom  of  past  ages 
becomes  an  inheritance  for  the  whole  earth,  in- 
stead of  perishing  with  each  possessor ;  and  thus 
man  advances  from  age  to  age,  through  the  ex- 
perience of  the  past,  instead  of  being  obliged  to 
work  out  all  the  wisdom  he  gains  by  his  own  in- 
dividual effort. 

This  is  the  bright  and  beautiful  side  of  lan- 
guage ;  but  on  the  other  hand  is  a  dark  and  hide- 
ous side,  when  language  becomes  the  foul  and 
poisonous  medium  through  which  the  folly,  the 
vice,  and  all  the  moral  deformities  of  humanity, 
are  spread  abroad  through  the  world,  and  handed 
down  through  the  ages.  The  same  medium  that 
serves  as  a  vehicle  for  heavenly  truth  is  the  tool 
of  the  scoffing  infidel;  it  is  formed  into  prayer 
by  the  saint,  and  into  blasphemy  by  the  sinner. 
Alternately,  it  serves  the  purest  and  holiest  uses, 
or  the  vilest  and  most  atrocious  abuses ;  now 
formed  to  the  sweet  breathings  of  heavenly  char- 
ity, and  anon  to  the  harsh  utterances  of  malig- 
nant hate. 

These  distinctions  are  wide  and  clear,  and 
easily  perceived  by  the  most  obtuse  or  indifferent 
observer ;  but  these  distinctly  marked  varieties 
pass  into  milder  shades  as  they  are  exhibited  in 
common  Conversation,  and  then  a  nicer  observa- 


CONVERSATION.  173 

tion  is  needful  to  detect  the  varieties  of  hue  that 
color  language  when  used  in  the  every-day  forms 
of  society. 

The  habitual  use  we  make  of  language  is  the 
result  of  our  own  characters,  and  it  reacts  upon 
them.  It  likewise  acts  upon  those  who  are  about 
us  with  an  unceasing  power,  repelling  or  attract- 
ing all  whom  we  approach.  Every  human  being 
exerts  a  perpetual  influence  on  every  other  hu- 
man being,  with  an  activity  as  universal  as  that 
of  gravity  in  the  material  world ;  and  language 
is  one  of  the  most  efficient  means  of  this  influ- 
ence. Viewed  in  the  light  of  these  truths,  com- 
mon Conversation  becomes  an  object  of  serious 
consideration ;  and  the  mode  of  sustaining  it 
worthy  of  the  deepest  thought  and  of  the  most 
careful  watchfulness. 

Between  the  malignity  of  a  fiend  and  the 
charity  of  an  angel  there  is  a  long  interval  of  in- 
clined plane,  and  those  who  walk  there  may 
seem  a  company  so  mixed  that  they  cannot  be 
separated  into  two  distinct  bands ;  but  every  in- 
dividual of  the  throng  is  looking  toward  one  or 
the  other  extremity,  and  either  ascending  or  de- 
scending in  his  course.  Conversation  is  the  out- 
birth  of  our  thoughts  and  affections,  and  it  shows 
their  quality  in  the  most  direct  manner  possible. 
Actions  are  said  to  speak  louder  than  words,  and 
to  the  appreciation  of  our  fellow-beings  our  lives 
are  much  truer  and  fuller  expositions  of  our  in- 


174  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

ternal  natures  than  our  Conversation  ;  but  before 
God,  always,  and  before  our  own  consciences  if 
we  really  look  at  ourselves,  the  insincere  words 
that  deceive  our  fellow-beings  stand  unmasked, 
—  the  deformed  exponents  of  the  falsehood  of 
the  soul.  We  can  therefore  understand  the  char- 
acter of  our  neighbor  better  by  his  actions  than 
by  his  words ;  but  to  understand  our  neighbor  is 
of  little  importance  compared  with  understand- 
ing ourselves;  and  is  chiefly  useful  because  a 
comparison  of  individuals  aids  us  in  comprehend- 
ing our  own  natures.  We  can  understand  our- 
selves by  our  own  words  if  we  will  take  the 
trouble  to  consider  them  dispassionately,  and  an- 
alyze the  thoughts  and  affections  whence  they 
spring. 

So  little  honesty  is  believed  to  exist  in  ordi- 
nary Conversation,  that  the  saying  of  a  witty 
courtier,  that  "  language  is  the  instrument  where- 
by man  conceals  his  thoughts,''  has  almost  passed 
into  a  proverb.  The  question,  in  which  direction 
is  the  man  walking  who  wfaps  duplicity  about 
himself  as  his  constant  garment,  needs  no  an- 
swer;  for  all  must  know  that  the  Divine  Being, 
whose  form  is  truth,  hateth  a  lie. 

Th-e  first  element  in  Conversation  should  be 
sincerity.  Not  the  blunt  and  harsh  sincerity 
sometimes  met  with,  which  is  made  the  cloak  of 
self-esteem  and  bitterness ;  for  that  is  an  evil  of 
the  same  nature  as  the  malice  and  hatred  that 


CONVERSATION.  175 

show  themselves  in  active,  outward  injury  to- 
wards the  neighbor.  When  excited  by  pride  or 
anger,  the  tongue  needs  a  bridle  no  less  than  the 
hand ;  and  when  the  heart  can  utter  itself  truly 
only  in  the  forms  of  such  passions,  silence  is  its 
only  safeguard.  In  speaking  of  the  follies  or 
vices  of  others,  sincerity  should  be  tempered  by 
a  Christian  charity,  which,  while  it  does  not  gloss 
over  vice,  does  not  dwell  upon  it  needlessly,  nor 
take  a  malicious  pleasure  in  spreading  it  abroad, 
nor  indulge  self-complacency  by  dilating  upon  it, 
to  give  the  idea  that  one  is  superior  to  such 
things. 

If  such  motives  are  allowed  to  have  sway,  a 
person  soon  becomes  confirmed  in  the  habit  of 
gossiping,  —  a  habit  that  degrades  alike  the  in- 
tellect and  the  heart.  The  soul  of  gossip  is  a 
contemptible  vanity  that  imagines  itself,  or  at 
least  would  have  others  imagine  it,  superior  to 
all  that  it  finds  of  evil  and  absurdity  in  the  char- 
acters of  those  whom  it  passes  in  review.  A 
very  little  observation  will  serve  to  show  any  one 
that  everybody  sees  his  neighbors'  faults,  while 
very  few  open  their  eyes  upon  their  own ;  and 
that  not  unfrequently  a  person  condemns  with 
the  utmost  vehemence  in  others  precisely  the 
same  follies  and  vices  in  which  he  himself  habitu- 
ally indulges.  Those  who  study  their  own  char- 
acters with  most  care,  and  who  best  understand 
themselves,  are  apt  to  say  least  of  the  characters 


176  THE   ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

of  their  neighbors ;  they  find  too  much  to  do 
within  themselves,  in  curing  their  own  defects,  to 
have  time  or  inclination  to  sit  in  judgment  upon 
the  defects  of  others. 

It  is  impossible  to  indulge  habitually  in  this 
vice  without  weakening  the  powers  of  the  intel- 
lect. The  heart  never  suffers  alone  from  the  in- 
dulgence of  any  wrong  passion.  The  intellect 
and  the  affections  ever  sink  as  well  as  rise  to- 
gether. Where  the  love  of  gossip  becomes  a  con- 
firmed habit,  the  mind  loses  its  power  of  accu- 
rately appreciating  the  value  of  Character,  —  of 
distinguishing  truly  between  the  good  and  the  bad. 
The  power  of  discrimination  is  weakened  and 
impaired,  so  that  no  confidence  can  be  placed  in 
the  opinions  of  the  mind  in  relation  to  Character 
or  Life.  In  addition  to  this,  we  must  bear  in 
mind  that  all  the  mental  power  we  bestow  in  crit- 
icizing and  ridiculing  our  fellow-beings  is  just  so 
much  taken  from  our  mental  strength,  which  we 
might  have  applied  to  some  useful  intellectual 
exercise.  The  strength  of  the  mind  is  no  more 
indefinite  than  that  of  the  body.  We  have  but  a 
certain  limited  amount ;  and  all  that  we  apply  to 
idle  or  bad  purposes  is  just  so  much  abstracted 
from  the  good  and  the  useful. 

Sarcasm  is  a  weapon  we  are  almost  sure  to 
find  constantly  used  by  the  gossip ;  and  whether 
it  be  shown  in  the  coarse  ridicule  of  the  vulgar, 
or  the  keen  satire  of  the  refined,  it  springs  ever 


CONVERSATION.  177 

from  the  same  source,  and  is  directed  to  the  same 
end ;  as  surely  as  the  clumsy  war-club  of  savage 
lands  was  invented  from  the  same  impulse  and 
wrought  with  the  same  intent  as  the  graceful 
blade  of  Damascus.  Its  source  is  vanity,  its  end 
to  make  self  sedm  great  by  making  others  seem 
little.  It  is  a  weapon  that,  however  skilfully 
wielded,  always  cuts  both  ways,  wounding  far 
more  deeply  the  hand  that  grasps  it  than  the  vic- 
tim it  strikes.  Of  all  the  powers  of  wit,  sarcasm 
is  the  lowest.  There  is  nothing  easier  than  ridi- 
cule ;  nothing  requiring  a  weaker  head,  or  a 
colder  heart. 

The  sincere  lover  of  truth  will  never  be  found 
habitually  indulging  either  in  gossip  or  sarcasm ; 
for  those  who  are  addicted  to  these  vices  never 
tell  a  story  simply  as  they  heard  it,  never  re- 
late a  fact  simply  as  it  happened.  A  little  is 
added  here  or  left  out  there  to  give  the  story  a 
more  entertaining  turn  or  the  satire  a  keener 
point.  As  the  habit  grows  stronger,  invention 
becomes  more  ready  and  copious,  till  at  length 
truth  is  covered  up  and  lost  under  an  accumula- 
tion of  fiction. 

There  is  a  very  common  form  of  insincerity 
used  by  a  class  of  well-meaning  but  injudicious 
persons,  who,  rather  than  wound  the  feelings  of 
their  friends,  conceal  the  truth  from  them,  some- 
times by  prevarication  and  sometimes  by  posi- 
tive falsehood;  doing  wrong,  that,  as  they  im- 
12 


178        THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHAKACTEE. 

agine,  good  may  come  of  it ;  as  though  an  evil 
tree  could  by  any  possibility  bear  good  fruit. 

Another  class  of  persons  converse  as  though 
the. chief  sin  of  Conversation  were  the  wounding 
the  self-love  of  those  to  whom  they  speak,  by  ex- 
pressing any  difference  of  opinion  from  them. 
Thus  they  are  continually  temporizing,  and  often 
contradicting  themselves,  and  exhibiting  a  cow- 
ardly meanness  of  spirit,  which  is  one  of  the  most 
contemptible  of  all  the  varied  forms  of  duplicity. 

There  is  a  common  form  of  embarrassment  re- 
sulting in  a  hesitation  of  speech,  which  often 
springs  from  a  want  of  genuine  sincerity.  The 
speaker  is  fancying  what  others  will  think  of  his 
remarks,  instead  of  fixing  his  mind  entirely  on 
the  subject  of  discourse.  In  this  divided  state, 
his  mind  loses  half  its  power,  and  he  utters^im- 
self  in  a  manner  satisfactory  neither  to  himself 
nor  to  his  hearers.  No  doubt  hesitation  in  speech 
sometimes  arises  from  want  of  verbal  skill ;  but 
probably  a  very  large  proportion  of  persons  suf- 
fering from  this  difficulty  would  soon  cure  them- 
selves if  they  would  steadfastly  speak  what  they 
believe  to  be  truth,  just  as  it  rises  in  their  minds, 
and  without  stopping  to  think  what  will  be 
thought  of  their  opinions  or  words  by  those  who 
listen  to  them. 

Next  after  truth,  reverence  is  perhaps  most  im- 
portant if  we  would  order  our  Conversation 
aright.     Many  indulge  in  a  frivolous   mode  of 


CONVERSATION.  179 

speech  in  speaking  of  the  most  sacred  subjects ; 
which,  though  it  may  spring  from  nothing  worse 
than  thoughtlessness,  cannot  fail  to  exert  a  bane- 
ful influence  on  the  Character,  and  diminish,  per- 
haps destroy,  the  little  respect  for  things  holy 
still  cleaving  to  the  heart.  This  same  irreverence 
shows  itself  in  another  form,  in  speaking  of  the 
calamities  suffered  by  others,  turning  that  into  a 
jest  which  is  to  those  under  discussion  cause  of 
the  most  bitter  anguish  ;  and  though  the  speak- 
ers probably  would  not  for  any  consideration 
have  their  words  come  to  the  ears  of  those 
spoken  of,  they  still  do  not  hesitate  to  make  food 
for  mirth  out  of  death  or  sin,  poverty  or  misfor- 
tune, in  a  way  little  short  of  inhuman.  The  in- 
dulgence of  this  habit  falls  back  upon  the  soul  of 
the  perpetrator,  wounding  deeply,  if  it  does  not 
kill,  all  the  finer  sensibilities  of  the  nature ;  dryr 
ing  up  the  fountains  of  sympathy,  and  making 
the  heart  hard  and  callous. 

Akin  to  reverence,  and  probably  springing 
from  it,  is  purity ;  which  shows  itself  by  a  careful 
avoidance  of  everything  profane,  obscene,  coarse, 
or  in  any  way  offending  delicacy,  either  in  word, 
tone,  or  suggestion.  This  purity  cannot  be  too 
much  insisted  upon ;  for  its  opposite  poisons  the 
fountains  of  the  heart,  defiling  the  temple  which 
should  be  a  dwelling-place  for  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Delicacy  and  refinement  are  too  often  looked 
upon  merely  as  the  elegant  ornaments  of  pol- 


180  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

ished  life.  They  should,  on  the  contrary,  be 
esteemed  essentials  in  the  Christian  Character. 
Everything  leaning  towards  profanity,  obscenity, 
or  indelicacy  is  utterly  incompatible  with  Chris- 
tian purity  of  heart.  Low  attempts  at  wit,  that 
hinge  on  vulgarity,  are  a  common  form  of  this 
vice ;  and  those  who  indulge  their  propensities 
in  this  direction,  are  laying  the  foundation  for 
general  grossness  of  Character,  such  as  they 
would  now,  perhaps,  shrink  from  with  horror ;  but 
towards  which  they  are  none  the  less  surely 
tending. 

We  are  told,  that  "  for  every  idle  word  we 
speak  we  shall  give  an  account  at  the  day  of 
judgment;  for  by  our  words  we  shall  be  justi- 
fied, and  by  our  words  we  shall  be  condemned." 
This  has  seemed  to  many  a  very  hard  saying, 
and  while  some  persons  try  to  explain  it  away, 
others  turn  from  it  as  too  hard  either  to  explain 
or  to  receive.  When,  however,  we  reflect  on 
what  words  really  are,  we  perceive  that  this 
heavy  accountability  clings  to  them  of  necessity, 
as  effect  to  cause.  Man  was  created  the  image 
and  likeness  of  God,  and  when  we  find  points 
hard  of  comprehension  in  the  character  or  rela- 
tions of  man,  we  may  often  gain  much  light  by 
taking  a  corresponding  view,  so  far  as  our  finite 
powers  permit,  of  the  Divine  Being. 

The  Scriptures  are  the  Divine  Word ;  that  is, 
the  verbal  exponent  of  the  Divine  Mind ;  while 


CONVERSATION.  181 

the  world  around  us  is  the  material  exponent  of 
the  same  Mind.  Speech  and  life  in  humanity 
correspond  to  these  two  modes  of  expression  of 
the  Divinity.  When  imperfectly  understood, 
they  almost  of  necessity  seem  to  contradict  each 
other ;  but  it  is  only  then.  The  unity  of  the 
Word  and  Works  of  God  is  becoming  con- 
stantly more  apparent  as  man  advances  in  the 
knowledge  of  both.  Each  helps  to  explain  the 
other,  and  it  is  only  by  a  knowledge  of  both 
that  the  character  and  attributes  of  God  can  be 
justly  comprehended.  A  little  consideration  will 
show  that  the  speech  and  life  of  man  in  like 
manner  combine  to  exhibit  the  character  and 
qualities  of  the  soul  within,  —  that  they  harmo- 
nize with  each  other,  and  that  therefore  of  neces- 
sity by  our  words  no  less  than  by  our  works  we 
must  be  justified  or  conderrined  before  the  All- 
seeing  One. 

Many  suppose,  that  because  we,  in  our  short- 
sighted views,  are  so  often  misled  by  the  words 
of  our  fellow-beings,  they  are  not  true  pictures  of 
Character.  We  should,  however,  remember  that 
it  is  not  before  short-sighted  man  that  we  are  to 
be  judged  by  our  words,  but  before  the  omnis- 
cient God.  To  his  ear  our  words  have  a  very 
different  significance  from  that  which  they  bear 
to  our  fellow-beings.  We  should  recollect,  that 
the  falsehood  which  may  make  it  impossible  for 
us   to  judge  righteous  judgment  of  our  fellow- 


188  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER.    . 

beings  stands  before  the  Lord  only  as  a  false- 
hood ;  and  that,  in  whatever  form  it  comes,  from 
the  courteous  white  lie  —  as  man  dares  to  call 
it  —  of  polished  society,  to  the  double-dyed 
blackness  of  malignant  hypocrisy,  God  sees  only 
the  varying  shades  of  dissimulation;  springing, 
in  whatever  form,  from  a  deep-running  under- 
current of  selfishness  and  worldliness.  We  may 
be  deceived  into  believing  words  are  genuine 
when  they  are  not  so ;  but  every  disingenuous 
word  uttered  is,  before  God,  the  image  and  like- 
ness of  the  duplicity  that  reigns  within.  To  us 
they  may  seem  the  beautiful  garments  that  en- 
velop purity  and  truth ;  but  to  him  they  are  the 
foul  and  flimsy  veils  that  strive  to  conceal  the 
soul's  deformity. 

Man,  in  the  pride  of  his  artifice,  often  exults 
because  he  has  outwitted  his  neighbor  by  his 
lying  words,  while  all  the  time  he  has  far  more 
outwitted  himself.  He  has  degraded  his  own 
soul,  —  set  upon  it  a  foul  mark  that  can  be 
washed  out  only  by  the  bitter  tears  of  penitence, 
and  yet  holds  his  head  aloft  in  fancied  superior- 
ity over  his  fellows,  while  before  God  and  the 
angels  he  stands  like  Cain,  with  the  mark  of  sin 
impressed  upon  his  forehead. 

That  man  should  be  condemned  for  lying 
words  all  will  admit,  but  when  men  converse 
idly,  or  without  any  particular  thought  one  way 
or  the  other  as  to  what  they  are  saying,  they  are 


CONVERSATION.  188 

apt  to  suppose  that  no  especial  moral  character 
belongs  to  the  words  they  utter.  Such,  however, 
is  far  from  the  truth.  Man  is  never  so  sincere  as 
in  his  idle  moments.  His  words  are  then  the 
simple  outporings  of  his  affections.  It  has  been 
often  said,  that  one  can  always  measure  the  re- 
finement of  any  person  by  watching  his  language 
and  deportment  in  his  moments  of  sportiveness. 
It  is  quite  as  easy  to  judge  of  other  traits  of 
Character  when  the  mind  is  thrown  off  its  guard 
at  such  moments.  Idle  words,  more  apparently 
than  any  other,  are  genuine  manifestations  of 
Character.  It  is  in  them  that  the  heart,  out 
of  its  abundance,  speaketh.  The  Conversation 
of  a  true  Christian  is  characterized  in  his  hours 
of  gayety,  no  less  than  at  other  times,  by  truth 
tempered  with  love,  made  clear  and  steadfast  by 
simplicity,  and  clothed  with  reverence  and  purity. 
The  trait  of  Conversation  we  would  next  con- 
sider is  courtesy,  —  Christian  courtesy.  This  is 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  carrying  out  the  law 
of  charity ;  the  doing  as  we  would  be  done  by. 
It  is  to  recognize  the  fact  that  others  have  a  right 
to  talk  as  well  as  ourselves ;  and  also  a  right  to 
expect  us  to  listen  to  what  they  say  as  attentive- 
ly and  respectfully  as  we  would  wish  them  to 
listen  to  us.  We  should  not  merely  hold  our 
tongues  when  others  speak,  but  should  scrupu- 
lously attend  to  what  they  say.  A  person  who 
affects    politeness,   although    he   remains    silent 


184  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHAEACTER. 

» 

while  another  speaks,  yet  does  so  with  an  air 
that  plainly  shows  he  is  paying  no  attention  to 
what  is  said,  and  is  waiting  with  impatience  for 
the  moment  when  he  can  hear  himself  talk. 
This  sort  of  listening  is  a  mere  pretence  put  on 
by  the  conceited  and  overbearing  when  they 
wish  to  pass  for  persons  of  polite  manners ;  but 
in  reality  it  is  an  insult  rather  than  a  courtesy  to 
listen  in  this  way.  To  listen  with  true  courtesy, 
one  should  feel  and  show,  not  only  a  willingness, 
but  a  desire  to  know  what  another  has  to  say, 
should  follow  attentively  all  that  he  says,  and 
should  then  reply  with  due  consideration  for 
what  has  been  said. 

It  is  a  remark  often  made,  that  after  an  argu- 
ment between  two  or  more  persons,  each  indi- 
vidual is  more  strongly  fixed  in  his  previous 
opinion  than  he  was  before.  This  result  is  often 
consequent  upon  the  want  of  true  courtesy.  The 
parties  to  an  argument,  absorbed  in  admiration 
of  their  own  opinions,  seek  not  to  become  wiser 
through  discourse,  which  should  be  the  end 
sought  in  all  Conversation  of  an  argumentative 
or  discussive  character,  but  seek  only  to  draw  at- 
tention to  their  own  views  and  opinions ;  until 
that  which  should  be  Conversation  degenerates 
into  a  mere  war  of  words,  in  which  each  party 
strives  to  talk  down,  rather  than  to  convince,  the 
other.  In  such  wordy  warfare  charity  has  no 
part;  but  pride  and  combativeness   hold  entire 


CONVERSATION.  185 

dominion  over  the  soul.  He  who  comes  off  con- 
queror may  exult  in  his  own  power ;  but  he  has 
overcome,  not  because  reason  was  on  his  side, 
but  because  his  combativeness  was  stronger  than 
that  of  his  opponent;  and  he  exults  in  that 
which  is  in  reality  his  shame.  The  moral  and 
the  intellectual  natures  suffer  together  in  such 
contests.  The  mind  fastens  itself  upon  the  prej- 
udices and  opinions  it  has  chanced  to  adopt, 
loving  them  merely  because  they  are  its  own, 
and  seeks  no  longer  to  advance  in  the  acquisi- 
tion of  truth  ;  while  the  heart,  inflated  with  ego- 
tism, has  no  abiding-place  for  charity.  Let  char- 
ity rule  in  a  discussion,  and  how  different  is  the 
result.  Each  party  then  strives  to  aid  the  other 
in  discovering  the  truth,  and  at  the  close  of  the 
Conversation  each  has  made  some  advance  in 
the  knowledge  of  truth.  The  ideas  of  both  have 
become  more  clear  and  rational,  and  their  minds 
have  acted  with  far  more  power,  because  they 
have  been  given  exclusively  to  the  object  under 
consideration  instead  of  being  divided  between 
the  object  and  self-love.  In  the  one  case,  the 
parties  are  like  two  horses  harnessed  together 
contrariwise,  and  each  striving  to  go  forward  by 
pulling  the  other  back ;  while  in  the  other,  they 
travel  amicably  and  fleetly,  side  by  side,  toward 
the  fountain  of  truth. 

Next  after  courtesy  comes  simplicity,   which 
may  be  defined  as  forgetfulness  of  self.    There  is 


166  THE   ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

nothing  more  fatal  to  agreeable  Conversation 
than  thinking  perpetually  of  one's  self.  Young 
persons,  on  first  going  into  society,  are  very  apt 
to  fall  into  the  error  of  supposing  that  all  eyes 
and  ears  are  fixed  upon  them,  to  observe  how 
awkwardly  or  how  gracefully  they  move,  and 
how  well  or  how  ill  they  converse.  This  is  the 
result  of  a  mental  egotism  combined  with  love 
of  admiration,  and  usually  produces  awkward 
diffidence  or  absurd  affectation.  Too  often  the 
first  weakness  is  overcome,  or  covered  up,  most 
unwisely,  by  exchanging  bashfulness  for  imperti- 
nent boldness ;  while  the  vanity  and  self-con- 
sciousness of  the  second  very  rarely  result  in 
manners  or  Conversation  either  sensible  or  agree- 
able. To  overcome  these  defects,  wisely,  re- 
quires a  strong  effort.  They  should  be  radically 
subdued  by  learning  to  ask  one's  self,  "  Am  I 
doing  what  is  right  and  proper  ? "  instead  of, 
"  What  will  people  think  of  me  ?  "  It  is  no  easy 
task  to  learn  to  do  this  habitually,  because  there 
is  involved  in  it  a  radical  change  of  Character.  It 
is  to  learn  to  be,  instead  of  to  seem.  In  the  first 
state,  we  are  absorbed  by  the  idea  of  what  we 
seem  to  others  ;  while,  in  the  second  state,  we  are 
occupied  with  the  idea  of  what  we  really  ore, 
without  regard  to  the  opinion  of  anybody,  but 
guided  strictly  by  the  abstract  law  of  right.  In 
the  first  state,  we  are  embarrassed  by  the  com- 
plexity of  our  wishes  and  aims.     We  wish  to 


CONVERSATION..  187 

please  everybody,  and  we  strive  to  ascertain 
what  will  be  agreeable  to  the  various  tastes  of 
those  with  whom  we  converse.  Thus  we  have 
no  constant  landmark,  rro  unvarying  compass  to 
guide  us  on  our  way ;  and  we  are  drawn  hither 
and  thither,  as  we  try  now  to  please  one  person 
and  then  another.  Let  our  wishes  and  aims 
but  become  simple,  and  we  walk  steadily  and 
surely  in  the  light.  In  the  complexity  of  our  de- 
sires we  were  slaves  ;  but  in  their  simplicity  we 
become  free.  Complexity  strives  perpetually  after 
reputation,  and  is  always  advancing  either  in 
the  direction  of  servility  or  of  arrogance,  accord- 
ing as  self-esteem  or  the  love  of  admiration  pre- 
dominate in  the  mind  of  the  individual ;  and  ad- 
vancing years  find  it  ever  deteriorating  in  all  the 
best  elements  of  Character.  Simplicity,  on  the 
contrary,  deals  with  what  is,  and  not  with  what 
seems  to  be,  and  is  ever  seeking  growth  in  good- 
ness and  truth ;  and  therefore  each  added  year 
finds  it  growing  in  all  the  graces  of  improving 
manhood  or  womanhood.  Complexity  gro^^^s 
old  in  mind  no  less  than  in  body.  Its  moral 
being  is  scarred  and  wrinkled  by  selfishness  and 
worldliness,  and  its  intellect  dried  up  and  with- 
ered by  narrow  views  and  unworthy  aims.  In 
its  old  age  there  is  nothing  genial  or  lovely,  and 
in  its  death  one  could  almost  believe  that  soul 
as  well  as  body  perishes.  Simplicity  improves 
in  mind  as  it  grows  old  in  body.     There  are  no 


1S8  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

wrinkles  on  the  brow  of  its  sunny  spirit ;  there  is 
no  withering  of  its  intellect.  Its  life,  in  time,  is 
a  perpetual  advance  in  all  that  is  gracious  and 
intelligent,  —  a  steady  '  ripening  for  eternity,  — 
and  its  death  is  but  a  birth  into  a  fuller  and  more 
perfect  life. 

In  Conversation,  complexity  adapts  itself  art- 
fully to  others,  in  order  to  gratify  its  own  selfish- 
ness. It  humors  the  selfishness  and  whims  of 
those  to  whom  it  speaks,  in  order  to  gain  con- 
sideration from  them,  or  to  make  use  of  them  in 
some  way  for  its  own  advancement. 

Simplicity,  on  the  contrary,  adapts  itself  art- 
lessly to  others,  because  it  is  full  of  charity ;  and 
therefore  desires  to  make  others  happy.  Its 
words  are  the  overflow  of  genial  thought  and 
kindly  affection ;  and  all  hearts  that  hold  aught  in 
common  with  it  open  and  expand  before  its  influ- 
ences as  plants  start  at  the  touch  of  spring.  It  is 
not  so  much  the  words  uttered  that  produce  this 
effect,  as  the  pleasant  and  kindly  way  in  which 
tliiey  are  said ;  for  this  throws  a  grace  and  an 
attractive  charm  about  the  most  commonplace 
objects  of  its  Conversation. 

Intellectual  brilliancy  in  Conversation  dazzles 
and  delights  the  imagination ;  but  it  does  not 
touch  the  heart.  Simplicity,  on  the  contrary, 
always  impresses  itself  upon  oiir  feelings  with  a 
power  that  is  all  the  more  strong  because  we 
cannot   analyze  it  by  our   intellect.     We   talk 


CONVERSATION.  189 

with  a  person  of  simplicity  about  the  common 
occurrences  of  the  day,  and  find  ourselves,  we 
know  not  why,  more  gentle,  refined,  and  happy 
than  we  were  before.  We  are  refreshed  as  by 
drinking  from  a  pure  and  undefiled  fountain 
of  sweet  waters ;  refreshed  as  mere  intellectual 
power  cannot  refresh  us ;  refreshed  as  no  book 
can  refresh  us.  There  is  a  harmonious  complete- 
ness in  the  whole  being  of  simplicity,  a  direct- 
ness and  honesty  in  all  it  says  and  does,  "  a 
grace  beyond  the  reach  of  jart,"  in  all  its  mani- 
festations more  potent,  because  more  internal  in 
its  effects,  than  anything  can  ever  be  that  is  born 
merely  of  the  intellect.  There  is  no  affectation, 
no  straining  for  effect  in  simplicity.  All  is  natural 
and  genuine  with  it.  Its  wit  is  never  forced, 
its  wisdom  is  never  stilted ;  nor  is  either  ever 
dragged  in  for  mere  display.  With  the  simple, 
Conversation  is  like  a  brook  flowing  through 
a  beautiful  country,  and  reflecting  the  varied 
scenes  through  which  it  passes  in  all  their  grace 
and  beauty. 

Another  important  trait  in  Conversation  is  the 
correct  use  of  words ;  and  the  effort  after  this 
cannot  fail  to  exert  a  beneficial  influence  on  the 
mental  powers.  In  order  to  speak  correctly,  one 
must  observe  with  accuracy  and  think  with  just- 
ness ;  the  endeavor  to  do  this  increases  our  love 
for  the  truth  and  our  capacity  for  perceiving  it. 
Much  of  the  falsehood  in  the  world  is  the  result 


190  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

of  carelessness  in  observation  or  phraseology. 
We  often  hear  two  persons  give  an  account  of 
something  they  have  seen  or  heard,  and  are  sur- 
prised at  the  discrepancies  between  the  two  narra- 
tions. Probably  neither  person  intended  to  de- 
ceive ;  but  both  saw  or  heard  carelessly,  and  so 
are  incompetent  to  describe  accurately ;  and  prob- 
ably, also,  neither  has  cultivated  the  habit  of 
speaking  correctly,  as  that  habit  is  not  apt  to  be 
found  united  with  carelessness  of  observation. 
Such  persons  would,  perhaps,  look  upon  this  sort 
of  carelessness  as  ^  venial  offence  ;  but  it  is  not 
so.  Anything  that  interferes  with,  or  diminishes 
the  capacity  for,  perceiving  or  speaking  the  truth 
is  of  importance,  and  should  never  be  passed 
over  lightly.  God  is  truth  no  less  than  love,  and 
every  variation  from  the  truth  is  a  sin  against 
him. 

If  we  find  we  have  related  any  fact  or  de- 
scribed any  object  incorrectly,  it  is  not  enough 
that  we  apologize  for  the  error  by  saying  "  we 
though  it  was  so."  Such  an  error  should  im- 
press us  as  a  thing  to  be  repented  of,  and  we 
should  try  to  ascertain  why  and  how  it  was  that 
we  fell  into  it,  and  it  should  put  us  on  our  guard, 
that  we  may  be  more  accurate  in  future. 

Inaccuracy  of  speech  often  arises  from  a  desire 
to  tell  a  good  story,  resulting  from  the  love  of 
admiration  or  from  an  ill-trained  imagination. 
The   speaker    colors,   exaggerates,   and   distorts 


CONVERSATION.  191 

everything  he  relates,  carefully  conceals  all  the 
facts  on  one  side  of  a  question,  and  enlarges 
upon  those  of  the  opposite  side  with  compensat- 
ing fulness.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see 
this  carried  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  idle  to 
give  credence  to  anything  the  person  says ;  the 
more  especially  as  such  a  person  very  rarely 
stops  with  mere  distortion  of  the  facts  of  a  story. 
As  the  habit  increases,  invention  supplies  new 
facts  and  details  to  make  out  all  the  parts  de- 
sired, till  the  listener  finds  it  impossible  to  sepa- 
rate the  true  from  the  false,  and  the  speaker  is  as 
unable  to  distinguish  his  own  inventions  from 
the  original  facts ;  for  when  the  habit  of  speak- 
ing the  truth' is  neglected,  the  capacity  for  per- 
ceiving it  is  gradually  lost. 

In  an  intellectual  point  of  view,  the  correct 
use  of  words  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  if  one 
would  speak  well.  To  attain  this,  it  is  necessary 
to  have  a  distinct  idea  of  the  meaning  of  words, 
and  then  to  endeavor  to  use  such  words  as  truly 
express  the  ideas  of  the  mind.  The  use  of  pet 
phrases  and  words  is  entirely  at  war  with  correct- 
ness in  this  respect.  With  some  persons,  every- 
thing is  pretty,  from  Niagara  Falls  to  the  last 
new  ribbon  ;  while  others  find,  or  rather  make, 
everything  nice,  splendid,  or  glorious.  It  would 
be  esteemed  an  insult  to  the  understanding  of 
any  person  to  suppose  that  the  same  idea  or 
emotion  could  be   aroused  in  his  mind  by  the 


192  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

sight  of  the  sublimest  work  of  nature  as  by  a 
trifling  article  of  dress;  yet  if  he  use  the  same 
term  to  describe  it  in  each  instance,  he  certainly 
lays  himself  open  to  such  an  imputation.  Want 
of  thorough  education  is  an  inadequate  excuse 
for  follies  of  this  sort,  because  common  sense 
combined  with  far  less  knowledge  than  may  be 
acquired  in  a  common  school  is  more  than  suf- 
ficient to  enable  every  one  to  use  his  native 
tongue  with  sufficient  propriety  to  save  him  from 
being  ridiculous. 

There  is  one  specious  gift  which  is  almost  sure 
to  mislead  those  who  are  largely  endowed  with 
it,  and  that  is  fluency.  We  listen  with  pain  to 
one  who  speaks  hesitatingly  and  with  difficulty, 
and  who  is  obliged  to  search  his  memory  for 
words  that  will  correctly  represent  his  thoughts ; 
but  if,  when  the  words  come,  we  find  they  really 
tells  us  something  worth  waiting  for,  we  feel  far 
less  weariness  than  in  following  the  unhesitating 
flow  of  words  that  are  but  empty  sound.  There 
is  always  peculiar  ease  and  pleasure  in  the  exer- 
cise of  a  natural  talent,  and  those  naturally  pos- 
sessed of  fluency  must  of  course  find  it  hard  to 
restrain  the  tide  of  words  that  is  perpetually  flow- 
ing up  to  the  lips ;  but  if  they  desire  to  converse 
agreeably,  the  effort  must  be  made,  and  self- 
denial  must  be  attained.  The  benefit  derived  by 
an  over-fluent  talker  from  self-restraint  will  be 
quite  commensurate  with  the  effort,  no  less  than 


CONVERSATION.  193 

with  the  added  pleasure  of  the  listener,  for  he 
will  gain  in  the  power  of  accurate  thought  every 
time  that  he  resists  the  inclination  to  utter  an 
unmeaning  sentence. 

A  clear  and  distinct  utterance  is  another  faculty 
that  should  be  cultivated,  for  the  effect  of  an 
otherwise  interesting  conversation  may  be  seri- 
ously impaired,  and  perhaps  destroyed,  by  a 
slovenly  or  indistinct  articulation.  Every  word 
and  syllable  should  receive  its  due  quantity  of 
sound,  yet  without  drawling  or  stiffness;  while 
the  voice  should  be  so  modulated  as  to  be  heard 
without  effort,  and  yet  the  opposite  fault  of  speak- 
ing too  loud  .is  avoided. 

Correct  pronunciation  is  a  very  desirable  ac- 
complishment, though  somewhat  difficult  to  at- 
tain in  its  details,  authorities  are  so  various  ;  but 
probably  the  most  comprehensive  rule  that  can 
be  observed  is,  as  far  as  possible  to  avoid  provin- 
cialisms. A  person's  pronounciation  can  hardly 
be  elegant  if  it  reveal  at  once  of  what  State  or 
city  he  is  a  native;  while  freedom  from  local 
peculiarities  is  of  itself  a  promise  of  good  pro- 
nunciation, as  it  shows  either  that  the  indi- 
vidual has  taken  pains  to  weed  out  such  peculi- 
arities, or  that  he  has  been  bred  among  those 
who  have  done  so.  The  pronunciation  of  the 
best  scholars  in  every  part  of  our  country  is  very 
similar,  while  the  difference  becomes  more  and 
more  strongly  marked  between  the  inhabitants 
13 


194  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHAKACTEB. 

of  the  various  States  of  the  Union  as  we  de- 
scend in  the  scale  of  education. 

Finally,  do  not  fear  to  be  silent  when  you 
have  nothing  to  say.  Do  not  talk  for  the  mere 
sake  of  talking.  To  sit  silently  and  abstractedly, 
as  if  one  were  among  but  not  of  the  company  in 
which  one  may  chance  to  be,  is  discourteous  ;  be- 
cause it  implies  a  fancied  superiority,  or  an  un- 
kind indifference.  Good  manners  require  that  in 
company  one  should  be  alive  to  what  is  going 
on,  but  this  does  not  imply  the  necessity  of 
always  talking.  There  is,  almost  always,  in  a 
mixed  company,  some  Conversation  to  which  a 
third  person  may  listen  without  intrusion ;  but  if 
this  should  not  happen  to  be  the  case,  it  is  far 
better  to  wait  until  something  occurs  that  gives 
one  an  opportunity  of  talking  to  some  rational 
purpose,  than  to  insist  that  one's  tongue  shall 
incessantly  utter  articulate  sounds  whether  the 
brain  give  it  anything  to  say  or  no.  This  sort 
of  purposeless  talking  exerts  a  positively  injuri- 
ous influence  upon  the  mind,  by  leading  it  into 
the  too  common  error  of  mistaking  sound  for 
sense,  words  for  ideas. 

Before  quitting  this  important  subject,  there  is 
a  general  view  to  be  taken  of  it  in  its  universal 
bearings  upon  Character,  which  places  it  among 
the  most  important  branches  of  a  wise  educa- 
tion. 

The  true  signification  of  education,  according 


CONVERSATION.  195 

to  one  derivation  of  the  word,  is  the  bringing  or 
leading  out  of  the  faculties.  The  best  educated 
person  is  not  he  who  has  stored  up  in  his  mem- 
ory the  greatest  number  of  facts,  but  he  whose 
faculties  have  become  most  strengthened  and 
perfected  by  what  he  has  learned. 

There  are  several  studies  pursued  in  our  schools 
and  colleges,  such  as  Greek,  Latin,  and  Mathe- 
matics, rather  because  they  are  looked  upon  as  a 
kind  of  gymnastics,  whereby  the  mental  faculties 
in  general  are  educated,  or  developed  and  invig- 
orated, than  because  they  bring  a  direct  practical 
benefit  to  life ;  for  of  the  numbers  who  exercise 
their  faculties  upon  them,  while  in  the  schools, 
not  one  in  ten  makes  any  direct  use  of  them  after- 
wards. These  studies  require  expensive  books 
and  teachers,  and  a  greater  amount  of  time  than 
can  be  given  by  the  majority  of  men  and  women  ; 
and  moreover  they  cultivate  the  intellect  without 
doing  anything  for  the  heart.  Without  in  any 
degree  questioning  or  undervaluing  the  great  and 
varied  benefit  derived  to  the  mind  from  these 
studies  in  added  accuracy,  strength,  and  richness, 
there  is  still  room  for  wonder  that  Conversation, 
both  as  a  science  and  an  art,  has  no  place  in  our 
systems  of  education ;  since  its  practice  is  a  daily 
necessity  to  all,  while  its  power,  when  wielded 
with  skill,  is  second  to  none  other  that  is  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  social  circle. 

Our  young  girls  are  nearly  all  of  them  taught 


196  THE   ELEMENTS    OF   CHARACTER. 

music  with  great  expenditure  of  money,  time, 
and  labor ;  but  whether  we  look  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  actual  talent,  to  the'  improvement  of 
Character,  or  to  accomplishment  as  a  means  of 
making  ourselves  agreeable  in  society,  how  profit- 
ably could  a  part  of  this  time  and  labor  be  em- 
ployed in  acquiring  the  power  and  the  habit  of 
accurate  language,  agreeable  modulation,  dis- 
tinct utterance,  and  courteous  attention ;  and  it 
can  hardly  be  doubted  that  a  person  who  pos- 
sesses the  power  of  conversing  well  finds  and 
gives  more  pleasure  in  society  than  a  person 
skilled  to  an  equal  degree  in  music. 

Conversation  has,  indeed,  this  advantage  over 
all  school  studies ;  in  order  to  obtain  its  best 
requisites  no  books  are  needed  beyond  such  as 
are  accessible  to  all,  while  its  best  teachers  are 
the  suggestions  of  common  sense,  and  the  con- 
scientious love  of  the  true  and  the  good.  Still, 
there  are  few  persons  whose  efforts  would  not  be 
crowned  with  a  higher  success  if  aided  by  the 
criticism  and  the  guidance  of  a  competent  in- 
structor. Those  who  are  competent  to  self- 
instruction  in  this,  as  in  all  other  accomplish- 
ments, are  exceptional  examples,  and  it  may  be 
doubted  if  even  these  might  not  have  reached  a 
higher  excellence,  aided  by  the  suggestions  of 
another  mind.  Properly  cultivated.  Conversation 
would  have  an  influence  in  developing  the  whole 
being,  of  a  kind  and  degree  that  could  hardly  be 


CONVERSATION.  197 

over-estimated.  In  its  exercise,  Thought  and 
Affection  have  full  play,  while  all  the  stores  of 
Memory  and  the  wealth  of  Imagination  find 
ample  field  for  display. 

Conversation  is  so  comprehensive  in  its  mani- 
festations and  necessities,  that  it  can  reach  its 
perfection  only  through  the  development  of  the 
whole  being,  moral  as  well  as  intellectual ;  and 
it  will  constantly  become  more  finished  in  pro- 
portion as  this  development  becomes  more  com- 
plete. Its  universality,  its  hourly  necessity,  should 
impress  us  with  its  value ;  for  the  mercy  of  the 
Lord,  as  it  gives  light  and  air,  sunshine  and 
shower,  seedtime  and  harvest,  in  short,  all  the 
essentials  of  physical  development  to  the  whole 
human  race,  so  it  supplies  to  all  the  power  and 
the  essential  means  for  disciplining  and  cuttivat- 
ing  the  whole  Character. 


MANNERS. 


"  There  is  something  higher  in  Politeness  than  Christian  moralists  have 
recognized.  In  its  best  forms,  as  a  simple,  out-going,  all-pervading  spirit,  none 
but  the  truly  religious  man  can  show  it ;  for  it  is  the  sacrifice  of  self  in  the  little 
habitual  matters  of  life, — always  the  best  test  of  our  principles,  —  together 
with  a  respect,  unaffected,  for  man,  as  our  brother  under  the  same  grand  des- 
tiny."—C.  L.  Brace. 

"  Manners  are  what  vex  or  soothe,  corrupt  or  purify,  exalt  or  debase,  barbarize 
or  refine  us,  by  a  constant,  steady,  uniform,  insensible  operation,  like  that  of 
the  air  we  breathe  in."  —  Burkb. 


Manners  are  the  most  external  manifestation 
by  which  men  display  their  individual  peculiar- 
ities of  mind  and  heart ;  and  unless  used  arti- 
ficially to  conceal  the  true  Character,  they  form 
a  transparent  medium  through  which  it  is  ex- 
hibited. 

It  has  been  sarcastically  asserted,  that  few  per- 
sons exist  who  can  afford  to  be  natural ;  and  it  is 
probable  that  if  the  human  race  were  to  allow 
their  manners  to  be  perfectly  natural ;  that  is, 
were  they  to  allow  all  the  passions  of  the  soul  to 
display  themselves  without  restraint  in  their  man- 
ners, social  intercourse  would  become  insupport- 
able. 


MANNEBS. 


Among  the  merely  worldly,  the  difference  be- 
tween an  ill-bred  ?ind  a  well-bred  person  is  that 
the  former  displays  his  discomfort,  ill-humor,  or 
selfishness  in  his  Manners,  while  the  latter  con- 
ceals them  all  under  a  veil  of  suavity  and  kind- 
ness. Selfishness  prompts  the  one  to  be  rude, 
and  the  other  to  be  hypocritical,  and  each  is  alike 
unworthy  of  commendation. 

Manners  are  the  garments  of  the  spirit ;  the  ex- 
ternal clothing  of  the  being,  in  which  Character 
ultimates  itself.  If  the  Character  be  simple  and 
sincere,  the  Manners  will  be  at  one  with  it;  will 
be  the  natural  outbirth  of  its  traits  and  peculiar- 
ities. If  it  be  complex  and  self-seeking,  the  Man- 
ners will  be  artificial,  affected,  or  insincere.  Some 
persons  make  up,  put  on,  take  off,  alter,  or  patch 
their  Manners  to  suit  times  and  seasons,  with  as 
much  facility,  and  as  little  apparent  conscious- 
ness of  duplicity,  as  if  they  were  treating  their 
clothes  in  like  fashion.  If  an  individual  of  this 
class  is  going  to  meet  company  with  whom  he 
wishes  to  ingratiate  himself,  he  puts  on  his  most 
polished  Manners,  as  a  matter  of  course,  just  as 
he  puts  on  his  best  clothes ;  and  when  he  goes 
home,  he  puts  them  off  again  for  the  next  impor- 
tant occasion.  For  home  use,  or  for  associating 
with  those  about  whose  opinion  he  is  indifferent, 
no  matter  how  rude  the  Manners,  or  how  un- 
cared  for  the  costume.  Perhaps  the  rudeness 
may  chance  to  come  out  in  some  overt  act  that 


200        THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTEK. 

will  not  bear  passing  over  in  silence,  and  then 
the  perpetrator  utters  an  "excuse  me,"  that  re- 
minds one  of  a  bright  new  patch  set  upon  an 
old  faded  garment.  Not  that  such  a  patch  is 
unworthy  of  respect  when  worn  by  honest  pov- 
ertyj  and  set  on  with  a  neatness  that  makes  it 
almost  ornamental.  This  is  like  the  "  excuse 
me  "  of  a  truly,  well-bred  man,  apologizing  for 
an  offence  he  regrets ;  while  the  "  excuse  me  "  of 
the  habitually  rude  man  •  is  like  the  botched 
patch  of  the  sloven  or  the  beggar,  who  wears  it 
because  the  laws  of  the  land  forbid  nakedness. 

The  fine  lady  of  this  class  may  be  polished  to 
the  last  degree,  when  arrayed  in  silks  and  laces 
she  glides  over  the  rich  carpets  of  the  drawing- 
room  ;  and  yet,  with  her  servants  at  home,  she  is 
possibly  less  the  lady  than  they ;  or  worse  still, 
this  fine  lady,  married,  perhaps,  to  a  fine  gentle- 
man of  a  character  similar  to  her  own,  in  the  pri- 
vacy of  domestic  life  carries  on  a  civil  war  with 
him,  in  which  all  restraint  of  courtesy  is  set  aside. 

There  is  so  much  undeniable  hypocrisy  in  the 
high-bred  courtesy  of  polished  society,  that  among 
many  religious  persons  there  has  come  to  be  an 
indifference,  nay,  almost  an  opposition,  to  Man- 
ners that  savor  of  elegance  or  courtliness.  If, 
however,  Christian  charity  reign  within,  rudeness 
or  indifference  cannot  reign  without.  One  may 
as  well  look  for  a  healthy  physical  frame  under 
a  skin  revolting  from  disease,  as  for  a  healthy 


MANNERS.  201 

moral  frame  under  Manners  rude  and  discourte- 
ous ;  for  Manners  indicate  the  moral  temperament 
quite  as  accurately  as  the  physical  temperament 
is  revealed  by  the  complexion.  Selfishness  and 
arrogance  of  disposition  express  themselves  in 
indifferent,  rude,  or  overbearing  Manners ;  while 
vanity  and  insincerity  are  outwardly  fawning 
and  sycophantic.  If  Christian  charity  reign  in 
the  heart,  it  can  fitly  express  itself  only  in  Man- 
ners of  refinement  and  courtesy  ;  and  the  Chris- 
tian should  not  be  unwilling  to  wear  such  Man- 
ners in  all  sincerity,  because  the  worlding  as- 
sumes them  to  serve  his  purposes  of  selfish- 
ness. Worldly  wisdom  ever  pays  Virtue  the 
compliment  of  imitation ;  but  that  is  no  good 
reason  why  Virtue  should  hesitate  to  appear  like 
herself.  The  best  Manners  possible  are  the  sim- 
ple bringing  down  of  the  perfect  law  of  charity 
into  the  most  external  ultimates  of  social  life. 
Until  Character  tends  at  all  times,  and  in  all 
places,  and  towards  all  persons,  to  ultimate  itself 
in  Manners  of  thorough  courtesy,  it  is  not  build- 
ing itself  upon  a  sure  foundation.  The  ultimates 
of  all  things  serve  as  their  basis  and  continent ; 
therefore  must  true  charity  of  heart  be  built 
upon  and  contained  ^within  true  charity  of  Man- 
ner. 

When  we  are  in  doubt  regarding  the  value  of 
any  particular  trait  of  Character,  we  can  gener- 
ally find  the  solution  of  our  difficulty  by  working 


802        THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

out  an  answer  to  the  question,  How  does  it 
affect  our  usefulness  in  society  ?  There  are  three 
modes  in  which  we  express  ourselves  towards 
those  with  whom  we  come  in  contact  in  the 
family  and  social  relations  of  life,  —  Action,  Con- 
versation, and  Manners.  The  importance  of  or- 
dering the  first  two  of  these  expressions  aright 
can  hardly  be  doubted  by  any  thinking  being ; 
but  that  conscience  has  anything  to  do  with 
Manners  would  probably  be  questioned  by  many. 
Let  us  ascertain  the  moral  bearing  of  Manners  by 
the  test  just  indicated. 

What  effect  have  our  Manners  upon  our  use- 
fulness as  social  beings  ?  Conversation  is  in 
general  the  expression  of  our  thoughts ;  much 
more  seldon^  do  we  express  our  affections  in 
words.  Manners,  on  the  contrary,  are  the  direct 
expression  of  our  affections.  They  are  to  Action 
what  tone  is  to  Conversation.  Many  persona 
may  be  found  who  make  use  of  falsehood  in  their 
Conversation,  but  very  few  who  can  lie  in  the 
tones  of  their  voice.  So  many  persons  can  act 
hypocritically,  but  there  are  comparatively  few 
whose  Manners  are  habitually  deceitful.  ,  Our 
words  and  actions  are  more  easily  under  our 
control  than  our  tones  and  manners ;  because  the 
former  are  more  the  result  of  Thought,  while  the 
latter  are  almost  entirely  the  result  of  Affection. 
Although  few  persons  are  distinctly  aware  of  this 
difference,  every  one  is  powerfully  affected  by  it. 


MANNERS.  203 

There  is  no  physical  quality  more  powerful  to 
attract  or  to  repel  than  the  tones  of  the  voice ; 
and  this  power  is  all  the  stronger  because  both 
parties  are  usually  unconscious  of  it ;  and  so 
mutually  act  and  are  acted  upon,  simply  and 
naturally,  without  effort  or  resistance.  Thus 
conversation  often  owes  its  effect  less  to  the 
words  used  than  to  the  tones  in  which  they  are 
uttered.  An  unpalatable  truth  may  come  with- 
out exciting  any  feeling  of  irritation  or  opposi- 
tion from  one  who  speaks  with  a  tone  of  voice 
expressive  of  the  benevolent  affections,  and  pro- 
duce much  good ;  while  the  very  same  words, 
uttered  in  a  tone  of  asperity  or  bitterness,  may 
exasperate  the  hearer,  and  be  productive  only  of 
harm.  It  has  already  been  said,  that  Manners 
bear  the  same  relation  to  life  that  tone  bears  to 
conversation  ;  and  a  good  life  loses  great  portion 
of  the  power  it  might  exert  over  those  who  come 
within  the  influence  of  its  sphere  if  it  ultimate  it- 
self in  ungracious  or  repulsive  Manners.  In  the 
old  English  writers  we  often  find  persons  char- 
acterized as  Christian  gentlemen  or  Christian 
ladies ;  and  courtesy  seems  formerly  to  have 
been  clearly  understood  to  be  a  Christian  virtue. 
Our  conflict  with,  and  our  escape  from,  the  aristoc- 
racy and  privileges  of  rank  of  older  nations  has 
caused  a  reaction,  not  only  against  them,  but 
also  against  the  external  politeness  which  was 
connected  with  them,  and  which  was,  and  is  too 


90i        THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

often,  though  certainly  not  always,  false  and 
hypocritical ;  and  thus  the  growth  of  republican 
principles  has  had  the  effect  to  diminish  the 
respect  once  entertained  for  good  Manners,  and 
the  mass  of  our  countrymen  seem  to  look  upon 
politeness  as  an  antiquated  remnant  of  a  past  age, 
which  the  present  has  outgrown  as  entirely  'as 
wigs  and  hoop-petticoats.  It  is,  however,  a  curi- 
ous feature  in  the  change,  that  at  no  previous 
time  have  the  titles  of  gentleman  and  lady  been 
so  universally  and  pertinaciously  assumed  as  at 
the  present.  The  rudest  even  are  resentful  at 
being  called  simply  men  or  women,  while  they 
unconsciously  show  the  weakness  of  their  claim 
to  a  higher  title  by  denying  it  to  those  who  they 
assume  are  no  better  than  themselves.  The 
often-repeated  anecdote  of  the  Yankee  stage- 
driver  who  asked  of  the  Duke  of  Saxe  Weimer, 
"  Are  you  the  rrian  that  wants  an  extra  coach  ?  " 
and  on  being  answered  in  the  affirmative,  said, 
"  Then  I  am  the  gentleman  to  drive  you,"  is  an 
illustration  of  what  is  going  on  continually 
around  us.  A  large  proportion  of  the  members 
of  one  half  of  society  stands  in  perpetual  fear 
that  those  in  the  other  half  do  not  esteem  them 
gentlemen  and  ladies ;  and  yet  it  seldom  seems  to 
occur  to  them  to  substantiate  their  claim  to  the. 
coveted  title  by  that  cultivation  of  good  Manners, 
which  can  alone  make  it  theirs  of  right. 

The  artificial  Manners  and  laws  of  social  life 


MANNERS. 


205 


are  so  overloaded  with  conventionalisms,  and  a 
knowledge  of  these  is  so  often  made  a  test  of 
good-breeding,  that  much  confusion  of  opinion 
exists  regarding  the  requisites  that  constitute  the 
true  gentleman  and  lady.  These  titles  belong  to 
something  real,  something  not  dependent  on  the 
knowledge  and  practice  of  conventionalisms  that 
change  with  every  changing  season,  but  to  sub- 
stantial qualities  of  Character  which  are  the 
same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  to-morrow. 

The  foundation  of  good  Manners  is  the  sincere 
acknowledgment  that  we  are  all  children  of  one 
great  family,  all  one  band  of  brothers,  each  hav- 
ing a  right  to  receive  from  the  rest  all  the  consid- 
eration and  forbearance  that  can  be  given  him 
without  diminishing  the  portion  that  belongs  to 
the  others.  The  rich  complain  of  the  envy  and 
jealousy  of  the  poor,  and  the  poor  murmur  be- 
cause of  the  arrogance  and  haughtiness  of  the 
rich ;  yet  if  those  among  the  two  classes  who  aye 
guilty  of  these  vices  were  to  change  positions, 
they  would  change  vices  too ;  for  arrogance  in 
the  possessor  and  envy  towards  the  possessor  of 
wealth  are  but  differing  phases  of  a  love  for 
wealth  based  on  the  love  for  that  consideration 
in  society  which  it  gives,  and  not  for  the  power 
it  yields  of  added  usefulness. 

The  ill-bred  fashionist  sails  haughtily  into  the 
shop  where  she  obtains  materials  for  her  adorn- 
ment, and  with  a  supercilious  air  purchases  her 


206  THE   ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

ribbons  and  laces  of  a  sulky  girl,  who  revenges 
herself  for  not  being  able  to  wear  the  costly  gauds 
by  treating  as  rudely  as  she  dares  the  customer 
who  can ;  and  as  they  look  upon  each  other,  the 
one  with  scorn,  and  the  other  with  envious  hate, 
we  see  in  both  only  the  very  same  littleness  of 
feminine  vanity,  which  in  its  narrow-minded 
silliness  believes  that  the  first  requisite  of  a  lady 
is  costly  garments. 

It  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  in 
our  higher  society  there  are  no  good  Manners, 
none  that  are  really  g6od  in  essence  and  purpose, 
as  well  as  in  form ;  and  it  would  be  an  equal 
mistake  to  suppose,  that  in  all  society  of  lower 
caste  there  is  either  a  want  of  true  refinement  or 
an  envy  and  distrust  of  all  that  is  above  it ;  but 
it  is  also  true  that  there  is  a  magic  circle  known 
as  "  genteel,"  and  a  perpetual  antagonism  pre- 
vails here  between  those  who  are  within  and 
those  who  desire  admittance,  but  are  refused ;  as 
there  are  literary  circles  where  contentions  and 
envyings  arise  between  pedantic  scholarship  and 
assuming  ignorance. 

The  ill-breeding  so  often  complained  of  in  the 
intercourse  between  the  different  classes  of  soci- 
ety, and  by  none  more  indignantly  than  those 
who  exercise  it  most,  results  from  the  factitious 
value  set  upon  the  externals  of  life  by  those  who 
estimate  them  in  proportion  as  they  give  distinc- 
tion among  men,  and  not  as  they  increase  the 


MANNERS.  207 

means  of  happiness  and  usefulness  in  this  world, 
and  so  prepare  us  for  the  usefulness  and  happi- 
ness of  the  world  to  come. 

Those  among  the  poor,  the  ignorant,  and  the 
vulgar,  whose  hearts  are  burning  with  envy  and 
hatred ;  and  those  among  the  rich,  the  learned, 
and  the  fashionable,  who  are  rendered  arrogant 
and  supercilious  by  their  possessions,  are  alike 
unconscious  of  the  true  worth  of  the  blessings 
that  excite  the  covetousness  of  the  one  class  and 
the  exultation  of  the  other.  Each  party  values 
man  for  his  possessions,  and  not  for  the  use  that 
he  makes  of  them ;  for  what  he  has,  and  not  for 
what  he  is.  Where  this  is  the  case,  mutual  aver- 
sion ultimating  itself  on  both  sides  in  acts  of 
discourtesy,  will  ever  keep  alive  a  spirit  of  antag- 
onism among  the  various  classes  of  society ;  and 
this  will  disappear  in  proportion  as  society  be- 
comes sufficiently  Christianized  to  perceive  and 
acknowledge  that  every  human  being  is  worthy 
of  respect  so  far  afe  he  fulfils  the  duties  of  his  sta- 
tion ;  and  that  we  cannot  be  discourteous  even 
towards  the  evil  and  the  unfaithful,  without  in- 
dulging feelings  of  pride  and  disdain  that  are  in- 
compatible with  Christian  meekness. 

In  the  social  intercourse  of  equals,  and  in 
domestic  life,  ill-temper,  selfishness,  and  indiffer- 
ence, which  is  a  negative  form  of  selfishness,  are 
the  principal  sources  of  ill-breeding.  Where  the 
external  forms  of  courtesy  are  not  observed  in  the 


208        THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

family  circle,  we  are  almost  sure  to  find  perpet- 
ually recurring  contention  and  bickering.  Rude- 
ness is  a  constant  source  of  irritation ;  because, 
however  little  the  members  of  a  family  regard 
politeness,  each  will  have  his  own  way  of  being 
rude,  and  each  will  probably  be  disgusted  or 
angry  at  some  portion  of  the  ill-breeding  of  all 
the  rest.  Rudeness  is  always  angular,  and  its 
sharp  corners  produce  discomfort  whenever  they 
come  in  contact  with  a  neighbor.  Politeness  pre- 
sents only  polished  surfaces,  and  not  only  never 
intrudes  itself  upon  a  neighbor,  but  is  rarely  ob- 
truded upon ;  for  there  is  no  way  so  effectual 
of  disarming  rudeness  as  by  meeting  it  with 
thorough  politeness ;  for  the  rude  man  can  fight 
only  with  his  own  weapons. 

Indifference  of  Manner  exhibits  a  disregard  for 
the  comfort  and  pleasure  of  those  around  us, 
which,  though  not  so  obtrusive  as  rudeness, 
shows  an  egotism  of  disposition  incompatible 
with  brotherly  love.  If  we  love  our  neighbor  as 
ourself,  we  cannot  habitually  forget  his  existence 
so  far  as  to  annoy  him  by  neglecting  to  perform 
the  common  courtesies  of  life  towards  him,  or 
interfere  with  what  he  is  doing  by  not  perceiving 
that  we  are  in  his  way. 

If  we  would  be  thoroughly  well-bred,  we  must 
be  so  constantly.  It  is  not  very  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish in  society  between  those  whose  manners 
are  assumed  for  the  occasion   and  those   who 


MANNERS.  209 

wear  them  "habitually.  The  former  are  apt  to 
forget  themselves  occasionally,  or  they  overact 
their  part,  or  if  they  succeed  in  sustaining  a  per- 
fect elegance  of  deportment  that  is  really  pleas- 
ing as  an  effort  of  art,  they  always  want  the 
grace  of  naturalness  and  simplicity  which  be- 
longs to  the  Manners  of  those  who  have  made 
courtesy  and  refinement  their  own  by  loving 
them.  It  is  only  when  we  act  as  we  love  to  act, 
that  our  Manners  are  truly  our  own.  K  we  cul- 
tivate the  external  forms  of  politeness  from  an 
indirect  motive,  that  is,  from  the  love  of  approba- 
tion, or  from  pride  of  character,  it  is  the  reward 
we  love,  and  not  the  virtue ;  and  if  we  gain  this 
reward,  it  is  only  external  and  perishable ;  and  is 
of  no  benefit  to  our  character,  but  the  reverse,  for 
it  ministers  only  to  our  pride.  If,  on  the  con- 
trary, we  cultivate  politeness  with  simplicity,  be- 
cause we  believe  it  to  be  a  virtue,  and  love  it  for 
its  own  sake,  we  are  sure  of  the  reward  of  an 
added  grace  of  character,  which  can  never  be 
taken  from  us,  because  it  is  a  part  of  ourselves ; 
and  though  we  may  enjoy  the  external  rewards 
:f  they  come,  we  shall  not  be  disturbed  if  they  do 
not ;  because  these  were  not  the  motives  that  in- 
duced our  efforts. 

Politeness,  where  it  is  loved  and  cultivated  with 

simplicity  for  its  own  sake,  gives  a  repose  and 

ease  of  action  to  the  moral  being  which  may  be 

compared  to  the  comfort  and  satisfaction  result- 

14 


210  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHAEACTEK. 

ing  to  the  physical  frame  from  habits  of  personal 
cleanliness.  The  moral  tone  is  elevated  and 
refined  by  the  one,  as  the  animal  functions  are 
purified  and  renewed  by  the  other. 

As  in  civil  life  liberty  to  the  whole  results 
from  the  subjection  of  the  evil  passions  of  all  to 
legal  enactments,  so  in  social  life  every  individual 
is  free  and  at  ease  in  proportion  as  all  the  rest 
are  subject  to  the  laws  of  courtesy.  Ease  and 
freedom  are  the  result  of  order,  and  it  is  as  incor- 
rect to  call  rude  Manners  free  and  easy,  as  to  call 
licentiousness  liberty.  No  man  is  truly  free  who 
allows  his  sphere  of  life  to  impinge  upon  that  of  his 
neighbor.  Fluids  are  said  to  move  easily  because 
each  particle  is  without  angular  projections  that 
prevent  it  from  gliding  smoothly  with  or  by  its 
companions;  and  in  like  manner  the  ease  of 
society  depends  on  the  polish  of  each  individual. 
If  the  units  of  society  seek  their  own  selfish  in- 
dulgence, without  regard  to  the  rights  of  the 
neighbor,  the  whole  must  form  a  mass  of  grating 
atoms  in  which  no  one  can  be  free,  or  at  ease. 

Indifference,  ill-temper,  selfishness,  envy  and 
arrogance,  all  positive  vices,  are  the  character- 
istics that  ultimate  themselves  in  ill-manners. 
Rudeness  is,  as  it  were,  the  offensive  odor  ex- 
haled from  the  corrupt  fruit  of  an  evil  tree ;  and 
he  who  would  be  a  branch  of  the  true  vine  must 
remember,  whenever  he  is  tempted  to  do  a  rude 
thing,  that  he  will  never  yield  to  such  temptation 


MANNERS.  211 

unless  there  is  hidden  somewhere  upon  his  branch 
fruit  that  should  be  cut  off  and  cast  into  the  fire. 
The  Christian  gentleman  and  lady  are  such 
because  they  love  their  neighbor  as  themselves ; 
and  to  be  a  thorough  Christian  without  being  a 
gentleman  or  lady  is  impossible.  "Wherever  we 
find  the  rich  without  arrogance,  and  the  poor 
without  envy,  the  various  members  of  society 
sustaining  their  mutual  relations  without  sus- 
picion or  pretension,  the  family  circle  free  from 
rivalry,  fault-finding,  or  discord,  we  shall  find 
nothing  ungentle,  for  there  the  spirit  of  Christian- 
ity reigns.  He  who  is  pure  in  heart  can  never  be  ^ 
vulgar  in  speech,  and  he  who  is  meek  and  loving 
in  spirit  can  never  be  rude  in  manner. 


COMPANIONSHIP. 


"  Try  to  frequent  the  company  of  your  betters  :  in  books  and  life,  that  is  the 
most  wholesome  society.  Learn  to  admire  rightly ;  the  great  pleasure  of  life  is 
that.  Note  what  the  great  men  admired ;  they  admired  great  things :  narrow 
spirits  admire  basely,  and  worship  meanly."  —  Thackeray. 

"  According  to  the  temper  and  spirit  by  which  it  is  influenced,  prayer  opens 
or  shuts  the  kingdom  of  life  and  peace  on  the  soul  of  the  supplicant,  elevating 
him  either  to  a  closer  conjunction  with  the  Lord  and  his  angelic  kingdom,  or 
plunging  him  into  a  more  deplorable  depth  of  separation,  by  immersing  him 
into  consociation  with  the  lost  spirits  of  darkness."  —  Clowes. 


Man  was  not  born  to  live  alone,  and  it  isonly 
in  and  through  the  relations  of  the  family  and 
the  social  circle  that  the  better  parts  of  his  nature 
can  be  developed.  Solitude  is  good  occasion- 
ally, and  they  who  fly  from  it  entirely  can  hardly 
attain  to  any  high  degree  of  spiritual  growth ; 
but  still  in  all  useful  solitude  there  must  be  a 
recognition  of  some  being  beside  self.  He  who 
turns  to  solitude  only  to  brood  over  thoughts  of 
self,  soon  becomes  a  morbid  egoist,  and  it  is 
only  when  we  study  in  solitude  in  order  to  make 
our  social  life  more  wise  and  true  that  our  soli- 
tary hours  are  blessed. 


COMPANIONSHIP.  '  213 

Man  really  alone  is  something  we  can  hardly 
imagine.  He  becomes  cognizable  almost  entirely 
through  his  relations  with  God  and  with  his  fel- 
low-men. Heathen  philosophy  sought  to  make 
man  wise  by  withdrawing  him  from  the  passions 
and  affections  that  move  him  when  associated 
with  his  fellow-men,  in  order  that  he  might  de- 
vote himself  to  the  study  of  abstract  truth. 
Christian  philosophy  teaches  that  truth  owes  its 
sanctity  to  the  Divine  Love,  which  alone  gives  it 
Life ;  and  that  by  leading  a  life  of  love  we  ac- 
quire the  power  of  understanding  the  truth. 
Philosophy  is  a  dead  abstraction  until  piety  and 
charity  fill  it  with  the  breath  of  life. 

The  offices  of  piety  belong  in  great  part  to 
solitude,  and  the  offices  of  charity  to  society ; 
but  the  principle  of  Companionship  is  involved 
in  both  ;  for  piety  associates  us  with  God  as 
charity  associates  us  with  man. 

All  Companionship  involves  the  idea  of  both 
giving  and  receiving.  In  the  offices  of  piety,  in 
proportion  as  we  give  a  worship  that  is  earnest 
and  heartfelt,  is  the  warmth  and  clearness  of  the 
influx  of  heavenly  love  and  wisdom  that  we  re- 
ceive. In  the  offices  of  charity,  our  love  is 
warmed  and  our  wisdom  enlightened  in  propor- 
tion as  we  disinterestedly  seek  the  true  happiness 
of  those  whose  lives  come  within  the  sphere  of 
our  influence,  guided,  not  by  blind  instinct,  but 
by  an  enlightened  Christianity.     Thus  the  qual- 


214         THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

ity  and  quantity  of  what  we  receive  from  ^Com- 
panionship depends  on  the  quality  and  quantity 
of  what  we  give. 

There  is  no  surer  test  of  Character  than  the 
Companionship  we  habitually  seek ;  for  we 
always  prefer  the  society  of  those  who  admin- 
ister to  our  dominant  love.  Some  seek  the  soci- 
ety of  their  superiors,  others  of  their  equals,  and 
others,  again,  of  their  inferiors  ;  and  the  members 
of  each  class  are  actuated  in  their  choice  by  very 
various  motives.  Thus,  among  the  first  class  are 
found  the  ambitious,  who  seek  their  superiors  be- 
cause they  fancy  themselves  elevated  by  the  re- 
flection ,of  the  attributes  they  admire  ;  the  proud, 
who  fancy  themselves  degraded  by  association 
with  their  inferiors ;  and  the  humble,  who  seek  to 
be  advanced  in  goodness,  in  knowledge,  or  in  re- 
finement through  intercourse  with  those  who 
excel.  On  the  other  hand  are  those  who  seek 
their  inferiors  from  the  vanity  that  demands  ad- 
miration as  its  daily  food,  or  the  pride  that  feels 
itself  oppressed  in  the  presence  of  a  superior,  or 
the  philanthropy  that  loves  to  give  of  its  stores 
to  those  less  endowed  than  itself.  The  middle 
class  may  be  actuated  in  their  choice  by  the  love 
of  sympathy  in  their  pursuits,  or  by  a  kind  of  in- 
dolence that  is  disturbed  by  whatever  differs  much 
from  itself.  There  is  less  purpose  and  vitality  ia 
this  class  than  in  either  of  the  others  ;  but  merely 
a  desire  to  float  with  the  surrounding  current, 
whithersoever  it  may  tend. 


COMPANIONSHIP.  215 

The  constituents  of  society  are  so  varied  in 
quality,  that  it  would  be  very  difficult  for  any  one 
to.  associate  exclusively  with  a  particular  class ; 
and  it  may  be  doubted  if  we  have  a  right  to 
seek  to  do  so.  The  variety  in  social  life  is 
adapted  to  develop  the  various  qualities  of  the 
human  soul  far  more  perfectly  than  they  could 
be  if  the  different  classes  of  humanity  were  en- 
tirely separated  in  their  walks.  All  should  be 
willing  to  give  as  well  as  to  receive,  and  to  this 
end  all  should  be  willing  to  associate  in  a  spirit 
of  brotherly  love  with  their  superiors  or  their  inferi- 
ors without  any  feeling  either  of  servility  or  of  ela- 
tion. We  may  seek  the  society  of  our  superiors  in 
^rder  to  enrich  ourselves,  and  that  of  our  inferiors 
in  order  to  give  freely  even  as  we  have  received ; 
while  with  our  equals  we  alternately  give  and  re- 
ceive, for  no  two  persons  are  so  similarly  en- 
dowed but  that  each  may  gain  by  associating 
with  the  other.  In  truth,  whichever  way  the 
balance  may  incline,  none  ever  give  without  re- 
ceiving, and  none  can  receive  without  giving. 

No  Companionship  is  wise  that  does  not  in- 
volve the  principle  of  growth.  If  the  influence  of 
our  associates  does  not  make  us  go  forward,  it 
will  surely  cause  us  to  go  backward.  If  we  are 
not  elevated  by  it,  we  shall  certainly  be  degraded. 
Two  persons  cannot  associate,  and  either  party 
remain  just  as  he  was  before ;  and  if  we  would 
find  in  society  an  element  of  growth,  we  must 


216        THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

seek  for  all  that  is  elevating  in  whatever,  circles 
we  move ;  for  it  is  not  confined  to  any  particular 
circle, or  class,  but  waits  everywhere  for  the  true 
seeker. 

Blessed  are  the  meek,  for  they  shall  inherit  the 
earth,  said  the  Lord,  teaching  as  never  man 
taught ;  and  it  is  in  proportion  as  we  walk  meekly 
with  our  fellow-men  that  our  capacities  become 
capable  of  receiving,  to  their  fullest  extent,  the  in- 
flux of  goodness  and  truth  that  should  be  the 
end  of  social  intercourse.  Nothing  obstructs  our 
receptivity  so  much  as  that  egoism  of  thought 
and  affection  which  keeps  self  perpetually  before 
the  mind's  eye,  and  to  this  egoism  meekness  is 
the  direct  opposite.  Meekness  implies  forgetful** 
ness  of  self.  There  is  nothing  servile  about  it, 
but  it  pursues  its  way  in  pure  simplicity,  forget- 
ting self  in  its  steadfast  devotion  to  what  it  seeks. 
Egoism  pursues  its  aims  from  love  of  self  and  of 
the  world,  and  confides  in  its  own  strength  for 
success.  Meekness  pursues  its  aims  from  the 
love  of  excellence,  and  confiding  in  the  strength 
of  the  Lord.  The  first  love  is  dim  of  sight,  and 
often  satisfies  itself  with  the  shadow  of  what  it 
seeks,  while  its  strength  is  too  feeble  to  grasp  the 
higher  forms  of  excellence.  The  second  love  is 
full  of  light,  because  its  eye  is  single ;  it  can  be 
satisfied  only  with  substance,  and  its  endeavors 
know  no  limit,  because  its  strength  comes  from 
Him  who  never  fails  nor  wearies. 


COMPANIONSHIP.  217 

Meekness  is  alv^ays  ready  to  receive  of  the 
excellence  it  seeks,  through  whatever  medium  it 
can  be  obtained ;  while  egoism  is  perpetually 
hindered  in  its  advancement  by  its  unwillingness 
to  owe  it  to  any  source  out  of  self. 

Similar  results  follow  in  giving  as  in  receiving. 
Meekness  gives  in  simplicity  from  love  to  the 
neighbor,  and  feels  as  great  pleasure  in  impart- 
ing from  its  stores  as  in  receiving  additions  to 
them,  because  the  pleasure  it  imparts  is  reflected 
back  upon  itself,  making  all  its  good  offices  twice 
blessed.  Egoism  is  twice  cursed,  as  all  that  it 
receives  and  all  that  it  gives  perpetually  adds  to 
its  love  of  self;  for  it  values  what  it  possesses  be- 
cause it  is  its  own,  and  imparts  to  others  because 
it  enjoys  a  feeling  of  superiority  over  the  recipi- 
ent of  its  possessions.  Meekness  builds  itself  up ; 
egoism  puffs  itself  up.  To  meekness  Compan- 
ionship is  a  perpetual  source  of  healthful  growth; 
while  to  egoism  it  furnishes  food  only  to  supply 
the  demands  of  a  morbid  enlargement,  destruc- 
tive to  all  manly  and  womanly  symmetry. 

Society  at  large,  according  as  we  walk  in  it  in 
a  spirit  of  meekness  or  a  spirit  of  egoism,  thus 
serves  to  develop  and  expand  our  powers,  or  to 
narrow  and  degrade  them  more  and  more  con- 
tinually. To  the  casual  observer,  the  difference 
in  the  advancement  of  the  two  classes  may  not 
in  early  life  be  apparent.  The  forth-putting  pre- 
tension of  egoism  may  indeed  cause  it  to  seem 


218         THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

the  more  rapidly  advancing  character  of  the  two ; 
but  the  progress  of  years  will  widen  the  separa- 
tion between  their  paths,  till  it  shall  be  seen  as  a 
great  gulf,  of  which  the  opposite  sides  have 
naught  in  common.  Advancing  age  will  show 
the  egoist  narrow-minded  and  overbearing,  peev- 
ish and  fault-finding ;  while  he  who  pursues  his 
even  course,  walking  in  Christian  meekness  with 
his  fellow-men,  will  in  old  age  exhibit  ever- 
enlarging  charity  and  ever-expanding  wisdom, 
and  his  gray  hairs  will  seem  like  a  crown  of  glory. 

It  may  seem  almost  needless  to  speak  of  the 
danger  to  Character  that  is  involved  in  seeking 
the  Companionship  of  the  worthless  or  the  evil- 
disposed.  "  Can  one  handle  pitch  and  not  be 
defiled  ?  "  Yet  the  usages  of  society  are  so  dis- 
ordered, that  the  possession  of  wealth,  family  dis- 
tinction, or  personal  elegance,  though  accom- 
panied by  ignorance,  folly,  or  even  dissoluteness, 
is  sometimes  a  surer  passport  into  what  is  termed 
good  society  than  the  best  culture  of  mind  and 
heart,  where  external  advantages  have  been  de- 
nied. 

When  we  value  mankind  according  to  their  ex- 
ternal advantages,  our  moral  standard  is  as  false 
as  the  drawing  upon  a  Chinese  plate.  We  have 
no  true  moral  perspective.  Our  ideas  of  right 
and  wrong  are  confused  and  imperfect,  and  in 
danger  of  becoming  corrupt.  We  laugh  at  the 
stupidity  of  the  poor  Chinaman, in  his  attempts 


COMPANIONSHIP.  219 

after  beauty  in  art,  while  in  morals  we  are  quite 
as  stupid  as  he.  Believing  ourselves  wise,  we 
are  fools.  It  is  very  hard  to  escape  being  unduly 
influenced  by  the  opinions  of  society;  but  the 
more  earnestly  we  seek  true  excellence  for  our- 
selves, the  more  easily  we  learn  to  value  true  ex- 
cellence in  others,  and  to  overlook  the  opinions 
of  the  world.  The  more  independent  we  become 
of  opinion,  the  better  will  be  the  influence  we 
exert  upon  society,  as  well  as  that  which  we  re- 
ceive from  it  in  return. 

If  the  influence  of  our  Companionship  with 
those  whom  we  meet  in  general  society  and 
in  the  daily  avocations  of  life  be  important, 
far  more  so  is  that  which  comes  to  us  through 
the  friends  whom  we  select  from  the  world  at 
large  as  best  adapted  to  minister  to  our  happi- 
ness; and  in  proportion  as  they  are  near  and 
dear  to  us  will  their  influence  be  strong  and 
deep. 

The  choice  of  friends  is  influenced  by  an 
equal  variety  of  motives,  and  of  a  similar  nature 
as  those  that  lead  to  the  selection  of  the  social 
circle.  There  is  often  no  better  foundation  than 
selfishness  for  what  passes  current  in  the  world 
for  ardent  friendship.  The  selfish  and  worldly 
love  from  selfish  and  worldly  motives,  and  doubt- 
less they  receive  their  reward ;  but  if  we  would 
derive  the  advantages  to  Character  that  result 
from  a  wise  Companionship,  we  must  select  our 


220         THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

friends  without  undue  regard  to  the  opinions  of 
the  world,  and  impelled  by  a  desire  for  moral  or 
intellectual  advancement.  Falsehood  and  fickle- 
ness in  friendship  result  from  its  being  built 
upon  merely  selfish  or  circumstantial  founda- 
tions. When  built  upon  mutual  respect  and 
affection,  it  contains  no  element  of  decay  or 
change ;  and  they  who  trust  to  any  other  founda- 
tion have  no  right  to  complain  if  their  confidence 
is  abused  and  disappointed. 

Persons  son;etimes  suppose  themselves  the 
fast  friends  of  others,  when  their  affection  is 
merely  the  result  of  benefits  received  directly  or 
indirectly;  and  if  these  benefits  are  withheld, 
their  supposed  friendship  is  dissipated  at  once,  or 
perhaps  changed  to  enmity.  Such  a  friendship 
is  merely  circumstantial,  and  has  no  just  claim 
to  the  name.  Mere  juxtaposition,  the  habit  of 
seeing  each  other  every  day,  is  often  sufficient  to 
produce  what  the  parties  concerned  esteem  friend- 
ship, and  to  occasion  the  freest  interchange  of 
confidence.  The  slightest  change  of  circum- 
stance, a  few  miles  of  separation,  an  inadvertent 
offence,  a  trival  difference  of  opinion,  a  clashing 
of  interests,  are,  any  one  of  them,  sufficient  to 
bring  such  an  intimacy  to  an  end,  and  to  cast  re- 
proach upon  the  sacred  name  of  friendship,  when 
friendship  had  never  existed  between  the  parties 
for  a  single  moment. 

Genuine  friendship  can   exist   only  between 


COMPANIONSHIP.  221 

persons  of  some  elevation  of  moral  character,  and 
its  strength  and  devotion  will  be  commensurate 
with  the  degree  of  this  moral  elevation.  Truth- 
fulness, frankness,  disinterestedness,  and  faithful- 
ness are  qualities  absolutely  essential  to  friend- 
ship, and  these  must  be  crowned  by  a  sympathy 
that  enters  into  all  the  joys,  the  sorrows,  and  the 
interests  of  the  friend,  that  delights  in  all  his  up- 
ward progress,  and,  when  he  stumbles  or  falls,  as 
all  at  times  must,  stretches  out  the  helping  hand, 
not  condescendingly  nor  scornfully,  but  in  the 
simplicity  of  true  charity,  that  forgives  even  as  it 
would  be  forgiven,  and  is  tender  and  patient  even 
w^here  it  condemns.  In  such  a  friendship  there 
is  no  room  for  rivalry,  weariness,  distrust,  or  any- 
thing subversive  of  confidence.  With  the  selfish 
and  the  worldly,  such  a  connection  cannot  exist, 
because  with  them  rivalries  and  clashing  interests 
must  arise  ;  for  it  is  only  among  the  seekers  after 
excellence  that  there  is  room  for  the  gratification 
of  the  desires  of  all.  Neither  can  it  exist  be- 
tween the  false,  for  falsehood  shuts  the  door  upon 
confidence  ;  nor  with  the  morally  weak,  the  fool- 
ish, or  the  idle,  for  they  weary  of  each  other  even 
as  they  weary  of  themselves. 

Of  all  earthly  Companionship,  there  is  none  so 
deeply  fraught  with  weal  or  woe,  with  blessing  or 
with  cursing,  as  the  Conipanionship  of  married 
life.  After  this  relationship  is  formed,  although 
the  threads  stUl  remain  the  same,  the  whole  warp 


222  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

and  woof  of  the  being  are  dyed  with  a  new 
color,  woven  according  to  a  new  pattern.  Char- 
acter is  never  the  same  after  marriage  as  before. 
There  is  a  new  impetus  given  by  it  to  the  powers 
of  thought  and  affection,  inducing  them  to  a  dif- 
ferent activity,  and  deciding  what  tendencies  are 
henceforth  to  take  the  lead  in  the  action  of  the 
mind ;  whether  the  soul  is  to  spread  its  wings  for 
a  higher  flight  than  it  has  hitherto  ventured,  or  to 
sit  with  closed  pinions,  content  to  be  of  the  earth, 
earthy.  All  are  interested,  even  strangers,  in 
hearing  of  the  establishment  of  a  newly  married 
pair  in  what  relates  to  the  equipage  of  external 
life.  Far  more  interesting  would  it  be  if  we  could 
trace  the  mental  establishing  that  is  going  on,  as 
old  traits  of  character  are  confirmed  or  cast  aside, 
and  new  ones  developed  or  implanted. 

This  union,  so  sacred  that  it  even  supersedes 
that  which  exists  between  parent  and  child,  should 
be  entered  upon  only  from  the  highest  and  purest 
motives ;  and  then,  let  worldly  prosperity  come 
or  go  as  it  may,  this  twain  whom  God  has  joined, 
not  by  a  mere  formal  ritual  of  the  Church,  but 
by  a  true  spiritual  union  that  man  cannot  put 
asunder,  are  a  heaven  unto  themselves,  and  peace 
will  ever  dwell  within  their  habitation. 

In  proportion  as  a  true  marriage  of  the  affec- 
tions between  the  pure  in  heart  is  productive  of 
the  highest  happiness  that  can  exist  on  earth,  so 
every  remove  from  it  diminishes  the  degree  of 


QOMPANIONSHIP.  223 

this  happiness  until  it  passes  into  the  opposite, 
and  becomes,  in  its  most  worldly  and  selfish  form, 
a  fountain  of  misery,  of  a  quality  absolutely  in- 
fernal. 

Amid  the  disorder  and  imperfection  reigning  in 
the  world,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  a  large 
proportion  of  marriages  should  be  truly  heavenly. 
In  order  to  arrive  at  this,  both  parties  must  be  of 
a  higher  moral  standing  than  is  often  reached  at 
an  age  when  marriage  is  usually  entered  upon  ; 
but  unless  the  character  of  each  is  inclined  heav- 
enward, there  is  no  rational  ground  for  anticipat- 
ing happiness,  except  of  the  lowest  kind. 

Many  persons  of  a  naturally  amiable  disposi- 
tion enjoy  what  may  seem  a  high  degree  of  hap- 
piness, through  their  sympathy  with  each  other 
in  worldliness  and  ambition  ;  but  such  happiness 
is  not  of  a  kind  that  can  endure  the  clouds  and 
tempests  of  life.  It  is  nourished  only  by  the 
good  things  of  this  world,  and,  if  it  cannot  ob- 
tain them,  is  converted  into  the  greater  wretched- 
ness because  the  being  who  is  dearest  in  life 
shares  this  wretchedness.  When,  on  the  contrary, 
things  heavenly  are  those  most  highly  prized  and 
earnestly  sought,  each  party  helps  to  sustain  the 
other  in  all  earthly  privations  and  disappoint- 
ments ;  for  each  is  looking  beyond  and  above  the 
trials  of  earth,  and  each  is  in  possession  of  a 
hope,  nay,  a  fruition,  that  cannot  be  taken  away, 
and  which  is  dearer  than  all  that  is  lost.     With 


234  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

them,  to  suffer  together  is  to  rob  suffering  of  half 
its  weight,  and  almost  all  its  bitterness.  What- 
ever earthly  deprivation  may  befall  them,  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  ever  within  their  souls. 

The  Companionship  of  our  fellow-beings  is  not 
confined  to  the  living  men  and  women  around 
us,  but  comes  to  us,  through  books,  from  all  na- 
tions and  ages.  Wise  teachers  stand  ever  ready 
to  instruct  us,  gentle  moralists  to  console  and 
strengthen  us,  poets  to  delight  us.  Scarce  a 
country  village  is  so  poor  that  there  may  not  be 
found  beneath  its  roofs  the  printed  words  of  more 
great  men  than  ever  lived  at  any  one  period  of 
the  earth's  history. 

We  are  too  apt  to  use  books,  as  well  as  soci- 
ety, merely  for  our  amusement ;  to  read  the  books 
that  chance  to  fall  into  our  hands,  or  to  associate 
with  the  persons  we  happen  to  meet  with,  and 
not  stop  to  ask  ourselves  if  nothing  better  is 
within  our  reach.  It  may  not  be  in  our  power  to 
associate  with  great  living  minds,  but  the  mental 
wealth  of  the  past  is  within  the  reach  of  all. 
We  boast  much  that  we  are  a  reading  people,  but 
it  may  be  well  to  inquire  how  intelligently  we 
read.  The  catalogues  of  books  borrowed  from 
our  public  libraries  show,  that,  where  the  readers 
of  works  of  amusement  are  counted  by  hundreds, 
the  readers  of  instructive  books  are  numbered  by 
units.  In  conversation,  it  is  not  uncommon  to 
hear  persons  expressing  indifference  or  dislike  to 


COMPANIONSHIP.  235 

whole  classes  of  books, — to  hear  Travels  de- 
nounced as  stupid,  Biography  as  tame,  and  His- 
tory as  heavy  and  dull.  It  does  not  seem  to 
occur  to  the  mass  of  minds  that  any  purpose 
beyond  the  amusement  of  the  moment  is  to  be 
thought  of  in  reading,  or  that  any  plan  should  be 
be  laid,  or  any  principles  adopted,  in  the  choice 
of  books  to  be  read. 

It  is  undoubtedly  a  great  good  that  nearly  all 
our  people  are  taught  to  read,  but  it  is  a  small 
fraction  of  the  community  that  reads  to  much 
good  purpose.  Children,  so  soon  as  they  have  ac- 
quired the  use  of  the  alphabet,  are  inundated  with 
little  juvenile  stories,  some  of  them  good,  but 
most  of  them  silly,  and  many  vulgar.  As  they 
grow  older,  successions  of  similar  works  of  fic- 
tion await  them,  until  they  arrive  at  adoles- 
cence, when  they  are  fully  prepared  for  all  the 
wealth  of  folly,  vulgarity,  falsehood,  and  wicked- 
ness that  is  bound  up  within  the  yellow  covers  of 
most  of  the  cheap  novels  that  infest  every  high- 
way of  the  nation. 

As  you  are  jostled  through  the  streets  of  our 
populous  cities,  or  take  your  seat  in  a  crowded 
railway-car,  you  are,  perhaps,  impressed  with  the 
general  air  of  rudeness  that  pervades  the  scene, 
—  a  rudeness  of  a  kind  so  new  to  the  world,  that, 
no  old  word  sufficing  to  describe  it,  a  new  name 
has  been  coined,  and  the  swaggering,  careless, 
sensual  looking  beings,  reeking  with  the  fumes  of 
15 


226  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

iiobacco,  that  make  up  the  masses  of'  our  moving 
population,  are  adequately  described  only  by  the 
word  rowdy.  As  yet,  no  title  has  been  found  for 
the  female  of  this  class,  —  bold,  dashing,  loud- 
talking  and  loud-laughing,  ignorant,  vain,  and  so 
coarse  that  she  supposes  fine  clothes  and  assum- 
ing manners  are  all  that  is  necessary  to  elevate 
her  to  the  rank  of  a  lady.  Perhaps  you  wonder 
how  so  numerous  a  race  of  these  beings  has 
come  to  exist ;  but  that  boy  at  your  elbow,  bend- 
ing under  the  weight  of  his  literary  burden,  is  a 
colporteur  for  converting  the  men  and  women  of 
this  "  enlightened  nation  "  to  rowdyism.  Those 
books  portray  just  such  men  and  women  as  you 
see  before  you,  and  that  is  why  they  are  wel- 
comed so  warmly.  A  few  cents  will  buy  from 
that  boy  enough  folly  and  impurity  to  gorge  a 
human  mind  for  a  week,  and  possibly  few  among 
this  throng  often  taste  more  wholesome  intellect- 
ual food. 

It  is  probable  that  some  of  these  persons  are 
the  children  of  intelligent  and  well-bred  parents ; 
but  their  fathers  were  engrossed  in  business,  and 
their  mothers  in  family  cares,  and  thought  they 
had  no,  time  to  form  the  moral  and  intellectual 
tastes  of  the  immortal  minds  committed  to  their 
charge.  They  fancied  that  if  they  sent  their 
children  to  good  schools,  and  provided  liberally 
for  all  their  external  wants,  they  had  done  enough. 
Ignorant  nursery    maids,    perhaps,   taught  them 


COMPANIONSHIP.  227 

morals  and  manners,  while  the  father  toiled  to 
accumulate  the  means  for  supplying  their  exter- 
nal wants,  and  the  mother  hemmed  ruffles  and 
scolloped  trimming  to  make  people  say,  "  How 
sweetly  those  children  are  dressed  ! "  as  the  maid 
paraded  them  through  the  streets,  teaching  them 
their  first  lessons  in  vulgar  vanity. 

A  child  may  be  educated  at  the  best  schools 
without  acquiring  any  taste  for  good  literature. 
The  way  a  parent  treats  a  child  in  relation  to  its 
books  has  far  more  influence  in  this  respect  than 
a  teacher  can  possibly  possess.  A  mother,  even 
if  she  is  not  an  educated  woman,  can  learn  to 
read  understandingly,  and  can  teach  her  child  to 
read  in  the  same  way.  She  can  talk  to  it  about 
its  books,  and  awaken  a  desire  in  its  mind  to  un- 
derstand what  it  reads.  Children  are  always 
curious  in  regard  to  the  phenomena  of  nature, 
and  whether  this  curiosity  lives  or  dies  depends 
very  much  on  the  answers  it  receives  to  its  first 
questions.  If  the  mother  cannot  answer  them 
herself,  she  can  help  the  child  to  find  an  answer 
somewhere  else,  and  she  should  beware  how  she 
deceives  herself  with  the  idea  that  she  has  not 
time  to  attend  to  the  moral  and  intellectual 
wants  of  her  child.  She  has  no  right  to  so  im- 
merse all  her  own  mind  in  the  cares  of  life  that 
she  cannot,  while  attending  to  them,  talk  ration- 
ally with  her  children.  The  mothers  who  best 
fulfil  their  higher  duties  towards  their  children 


228  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

are  quite  as  often  found  among  those  who  are 
compelled  to  almost  constant  industry  of  the 
hands,  as  among  those  of  abundant  leisure. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  handiwork  of  the  house- 
keeper or  the  seamstress  that  need  absorb  all  the 
mental  attention ;  and  hers  must  be  an  ill-regu- 
lated mind  that  cannot  ply  the  needle,  or  per- 
form the  more  active  duties  of  the  household, 
and  yet  listen  to  the  child  as  it  reads  its  little 
books,  and  converse  with  it  about  the  moral  les- 
sons or  the  intellectual  instruction  they  contain. 
The  mother  has  it  in  her  power  to  influence  the 
mode  in  which  the  child  makes  companions  of 
its  books  more  than  any  other  person ;  and 
the  character  of  its  Companionship  with  them 
through  life  will  generally  depend  in  a  great  de- 
gree on  the  tastes  and  habits  acquired  in  child- 
hood. 

Many  parents"  who  guard  their  children  with 
jealous  care  from  the  contamination  of  rude  and 
vicious  society  among  other  children,  allow  them 
to  associate  with  ideal  companions  of  a  very 
degraded  kind.  The  parent  should  check  the 
propensity,  not  only  to  read  bad  books,  but  also 
to  read  idle  or  foolish  books,  by  exciting  the 
action  of  the  mind  towards  something  better. 
Merely  to  deny  improper  books  is  not  enough. 
Something  must  be  given  in  place  of  them,  or 
the  craving  will  continue,  and  the  child  will  be 
very  apt  to  gratify  its  appetite  in  secret. 


COMPANIONSHIP.  2S^ 

Children  are  easily  led  to  observe  nature,  ani- 
mate or  inanimate,  with  interest,  and  there  are 
many  simple  books  illustrating  the  departments 
of  natural  science  which  mothers  could  make  in- 
teresting to  their  children  at  the  same  time  that 
they  instructed  themselves.  Juvenile  works  on 
history  abound,  and  through  them  the  child  may 
be  led,  as  intelligence  expands,  to  seek  more  ex- 
tended and  thorough  treatises;  and  the  sympathy 
of  the  mother  should  be  ready  to  help  him  on  his 
way.  It  is  mere  self-deception  in  those  mothers 
who  deny  their  mental  capacity,  or  their  com- 
mand of  time,  to  aid  their  children  in  their  mental 
progress.  It  is  a  moral  want  of  their  own,  far 
more  than  everything  else,  that  causes  them  to 
shrink  from  this  most  important  responsibility. 

Those  who  have  passed  the  period  of  child- 
hood, who  have  taken  upon  themselves  the  re- 
sponsibility of  all  that  concerns  their  own  minds, 
and  who  have  any  desire  after  upward  progress, 
should  remember  that  the  books  they  love  best 
are  those  which  reflect  their  own  characteristics. 
Every  one  looks  up  to  his  favorite  books,  and  the 
tone  of  his  mind  is  influenced  by  them  in  conse- 
quence. In  our  Companionship  with  our  fellow- 
beings  we  may  be  governed  to  a  great  extent 
by  our  desire  to  stand  well  with  the  world,  and 
therefore  seek  the  society  of  those  whom  the 
world  most  admires  rather  than  those  we  most 
enjoy.  In  the  choice  of  our  books  there  is  much 
15* 


230  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

less  influence  of  this  kind  exerted  upon  us.     In 
the  retirement  of  our  homes  we  may  daily  con- 
sort with  the  low  or  the  wicked,  as  they  are  de- 
lineated in  books,   and   our   standing   with   the 
world  be  in  no  way  affected,  while  the  poison  we 
imbibe  will  work  all  the    more    surely   that   it 
works  secretly.     They  whose  ideas  of  right  and 
wrong  are  dependent  on  the  judgment  of  the 
world  may  need  even  this  poor  guide,  and  suffer 
from  the  want  of  it ;  for  in  doing  what  the  world 
does  not  know,  and  therefore  cannot  condemn, 
they  may  encounter  evil  and  danger  from  which 
even  the  love  of  the  world  would  protect  them, 
if  the  same  things  were  to  be  exposed  to  the 
public  eye.     We  have  no  more  moral  right  to 
read  bad  books  than  to  associate  with  bad  men, 
and  it  would   be    well   for   us  in  selecting  our 
books  to  be   governed  by  much  the  same  prin- 
ciples as  in  the  selection  of  our  associates ;  to 
feel    that    they   are,   in   fact,    companions    and 
friends  whose  opinions   cannot   fail   to  exert  a 
powerful  influence  upon  us,  and  that  we  cannot 
associate    with    them    indiscriminately    without 
great  danger  to  our  characters. 

The  Book  of  books,  the  Word  of  God,  should 
occupy  the  first  place  in  our  estimation;  and  the 
test  question  in  regard  to  th&  value  of  all  other 
books  is,  whether  they  draw  us  towards,  or  away 
from,  the  Bible.  So  far  as  they  are  written  with 
a  genuine  love  for  goodness  and  truth,  books  in 


COMPANIONSHIP.  231 

every  department  of  science  and  literature  have 
a  tendency,  more  or  less  strong,  to  increase  our 
reverence  and  love  for  the  Source  of  all  goodness 
and  truth  ;  and  no  book  can  be  subversive  of  our 
faith  in  the  Scriptures  that  has  not  its  founda- 
tion laid  in  falsehood. 

Nature  may  tell  us  of  a  Creator,  but  the  Bible 
alone  reveals  a  Father.  Nature  describes  him  as 
far  from  us,  removed  beyond  all  sympathy,  be- 
fore whose  power  we  tremble,  and  whose  mercy 
we  might  strive  to  propitiate  by  sacrifices  or  en- 
treaties ;  but  from  the  Bible  we  learn  that  he  is 
near  at  hand,  watching  every  pulsation  of  the 
heart,  listening  to  every  aspiration  that  we 
breathe ;  that  we  walk  with  him  so  long  as  we 
obey  his  commandments,  and  that  though  we 
may  turn  from  him,  he  never  turns  from  us ;  that 
w^hen  we  approach  him  in  prayer,  it  should  no 
be  with  fear,  but  with  love  ;  and  loving  him  with 
the  knowledge  that  he  first  loved  us,  we  find  that 
prayer,  in  its  true  form,  is  a  Companionship,  and 
that  the  Father  rejoices  over  his  child  in  propor- 
tion as  the  child  rejoices  in  approaching  the 
throne  of  mercy. 

Pure  and  holy  influences  come  to  us  mediately 
through  our  Companionship  with  those  among 
our  fellow-beings  who  have  received  of  the  over- 
flowings of  the  Divine  Fountain  of  goodness  and 
truth.  But  when  we  reverently  approach  that 
Fountain,  we  receive  immediately,  with  a  power 


232        THE  ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

and  fulness  that  can  descend  upon  us  through  no 
human  being. 

What  we  receive  through  other  mediums 
reaches  only  the  lower  arjd  more  external  planes 
of  our  being ;  but  prayer  brings  us,  if  we  pray 
aright,  before  the  throne  of  the  Most  High,  and 
opens  those  inmost  chambers  of  the  soul  that  re- 
main for  ever  closed  and  empty  unless  they  are 
opened  and  filled  by  the  immediate  presence  of 
the  Lord.  These  constitute  that  Holy  of  Holies 
which  is  the  inmost  of  every  human  soul.  The 
world  at  large  may  enter  its  outer  courts,  chosen 
friends  may  minister  before  the  altar  of  its  sanc- 
tuary, but  within  all  this  there  is  a  holier  place, 
which  none  but  the  Lord  can  enter ;  for  it  is  the 
seat  of  the  vital  principle  of  the  soul,  which  can 
be  touched  and  quickened  by  no  hand  but  his. 

The  quality  of  the  life  of  the  whole  being  de- 
pends upon  the  degree  in  which  we  suffer  the  Lord 
to  dwell  within  our  souls.  His  Companionship 
fills  and  vivifies  everything  that  is  below  it.  The 
more  entirely  we  walk  with  the  Lord,  the  more 
constant  we  shall  be  in  the  performance  of  all  our 
duties.  The  more  entirely  we  open  our  hearts 
to  his  influence,  the  more  benefit  we  shall  re- 
ceive from  all  other  influences.  The  more  rever- 
ently we  listen  to  the  truth  that  comes  directly 
from  him,  the  more  capable  we  shall  be  of  find- 
ing out  and  appreciating  the  truth  that  comes 
indirectly.     The   more   we   open   our   hearts   to 


COMPANIONSHIP.  233 

receive  his  love,  the  more  perfect  will  be  the  love 
we  shall  bear  towards  our  fellow-beings.  The 
more  constantly  we  feel  that  we  are  in  his  pres- 
ence, the  more  perfect  will  be  the  hourly  outgo- 
ings of  our  lives. 

Intimate  Companionship  with  the  Lord  does 
not  abstract  us  from  the  world  around  us,  but 
fills  that  world  with  new  meanings.  There  is 
nothing  abstract  in  the  nature  of  the  Deity.  He 
is  operating  perpetually  upon  all  nature.  Grav- 
ity, organic  life,  instinct,  human  thought  and 
affection,  are  forms  of  his  influx  manifesting  it- 
self in  varying  relations.  Wherever  he  comes 
there  is  life,  and  his  activity  knows  no  end. 

Let  no  human  being  think  that  he  holds  Com- 
panionship with  the  Lord,  because  he  loves  to  re- 
tire apart,  to  pray,  or  to  contemplate  the  divine 
attributes,  if,  at  such  times,  he  looks  down  upon, 
and  shuns  the  haunts  of  men.  The  bigot  may 
do  so  ;  and  all  his  thoughts  about  things  holy,  all 
his  prayers,  only  confirm  him  in  his  spiritual 
pride.  Every  thought  of  self-elevation,  every 
feeling  that  tends  towards  "  I  am  holier  than 
thou,"  smothers  the  breath  of  all  true  prayer,  and 
associates  us  with  the  spirit  of  evil ;  for  our 
prayers  cannot  be  blessed  to  us  if  pride  inspire 
them.  Neither  let  any  one  suppose  himself 
spiritual  because  material  life  or  material  duties 
oppress  him.  God  made  the  material  world  as 
a  school  for  his  children ;  and  he  will  not  keep  us 


234  THE    ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER. 

here  a  moment  after  we  are  prepared  for  a  higher 
state.  We  are  putting  ourselves  back  when  we 
work  impatiently,  in  the  feeling  that  the  duties  of 
life  are  beneath  us. 

If  w^e  would  abide  with  our  Heavenly  Father, 
we  must  cooperate  with  him  perpetually.  It  is 
doing  his  will,  not  contemplating  it,  that  teaches 
us  his  attributes,  and  builds  us  up  in  his  image 
and  likeness.  His  fields  are  ever  white  unto  the 
harvest ;  let  us  work  while  it  is  yet  day,  ever 
bearing  in  mind  that  he  gives  us  the  power  to 
work,  and  that  we  can  work  rightly  only  so  long  , 
as  we  live  in  the  constant  acknowledgment  of 
our  dependence  upon  Him. 


THE    END. 


•  * 


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